Name that Bird

It's been fun and challenging for me to put names to the birds I took photos of recently in Colombia.

 I've been using various ways of doing this, and that has had me thinking I should share my methods with you. 

I do this with a bit of fear and trepidation, because I'm one of those people who still uses a 'dumb' phone.  So I can't share much with you about birding apps (such as iBird, Merlin,  or Audubon) except to say I'm sure they are great! If you'd like to learn more about them, you can do a search for birding apps and easily find lots of reviews and tips.  One great thing about them is being able to use them right out in the field.

Speaking of out in the field, of course that's where it all starts. Whether you are going to use the latest app,  or old-fashioned methods to name to your bird, it starts with your eyes, ears, and brain!  You need to take a good look at the bird - it's general size and shape, coloration, and any details you notice, such as bill shape or other markings.  Notice where you saw it - including general location, but also things like if it was in the tree-top or on the ground.  How the bird was acting, such as wagging its tail or how it flapped its wings as it flew can be helpful.  So, first of all, soak in as much information about the bird as you can. 

Digital photos are a great help.  Recording a short video of the song or call can add to your information.  If I can't get a photo, I sometimes make a rudimentary sketch in a little notebook I carry with me.  I'll label where the bird had different colors or markings.  Trust me, if it is a warbler-- once you start looking in a field guide, it's easy to get confused about where the yellow was, or if it had an eye-ring or wing bars, or not!

Alright, let's name some birds!

First, this male (above) and female (below), which I saw flitting around a hanging basket at a motel.  (Yes, you need to keep an eye out for birds everywhere!)

I found them online in a gallery of South American bird photos, and double-checked them in a field guide (from an inter-library loan, see the cover above).

There are lots of similar-looking birds, but in checking the details and range maps for where they could be found, I decided on Orange-bellied Euphonia (number 5a).  The Orange-crowned Euphonia is very similar but its range does not include where I was and it's a rare bird so that would be highly unlikely. 

Second birds.... similar colors, but a lot larger size.

These are called Oriole Blackbirds.  How's that for a descriptive name? The book says they are "a large and conspicuous blackbird which is oriole-like in coloration".  That wasn't too hard!

Neither was the next one.

By its coloration and habit, its name fits very well.  Vermilion Flycatcher.  Vermilion as in 'brilliant red' and flycatcher as in what it does.

Just like the flycatchers that come to northeastern PA in the summer months, it sits on a branch until it spies an insect.  Then it swoops out and catches it to eat.  Unfortunately, this one only ranges as far north as the southwestern USA... it's so beautiful!

One place we stayed had quite a flock of the next birds.  They spent most of their time walking around in the grass eating bugs.

They looked to me like they were in the Ibis family, and sure enough, as I scrolled thru an online gallery of South American birds there they were.  Bare-faced Ibis.

I also noticed a couple of similar birds sitting up in a tree nearby.  I thought at the time they might be young birds, but I took some photos in case they were something different.  Turns out, they are another kind of Ibis.  Green Ibis.

They have greenish legs and beaks, and a little bit of almost sparkly green on the backs of their necks.  So, small differences can be important in identification.

But, also, sometimes little variations are still the same bird!

A very common bird in Central and South America are these Blue-grey tanagers.  Depending on the light and the individual bird, they can look more grey or more blue.  Some of them have more white on their wings.  But they are still all Blue-grey tanagers. The next photo was taken early in the morning so you can't see much coloration in the pair on the top wire.  The bird below them is another very common bird.  It got its name the same way our Chickadee did, from the call it makes.

It's a Great Kiskadee... and it says "kis-ka-dee".  Giving a bird a name by its call is fairly common, and being able to tell some species apart is occasionally only definite by hearing the song or call.  Birders know to listen when they see certain flycatcher species; to have the best clue to whether it's a 'least', 'willow', 'alder' or some other closely-related species.

Notice the little bit of yellow showing on the top of the head.  Great Kiskadees can show this when they are agitated, like our Kingbirds.

It's hard choosing which other birds to show you... I still have lots more photos.  Here are a couple which are so uniquely patterned and colored that they were fairly easy to identify.

A Blue-necked Tanager

A Bay-headed Tanager

There are a number of online websites that are very helpful when trying to identify birds or learn more about them.  My favorite for US birds is the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology website, or for neotropical birds, their Neotropical site.  Another good website is Whatbird.com.  

If I'm still stumped, I have some other options.  For Pennsylvania birds, if you are on FaceBook, you can join a group called, "ID that PA Bird!".  Even if you don't have a bird to look up now, you can learn a lot about birds by reading posts in the group.  If you do post a photo of an unknown bird, typically-- instead of just telling you what it is, commenters will help you learn to figure it out yourself. 

Back to my Colombian birds.... I still had a bird whose idenity was eluding me.  It was not in the book (which is only Volume 1 and therefore doesn't have all the birds in it) and I couldn't find it online in a gallery or by searching what I thought it could possibly be called.  Black-winged White something??? 

Chestnut-cheeked something???

Were they even the same species?  They seemed to be colony cavity-nesters, since there were several in the area of this hole-filled tree. 

So I went to another website called "BirdForum".  This is an international forum for birders, which you can check out without joining, or if you want to be able to post, you can register for free.  I posted a few photos of my white and black birds with information about where and when I saw them and some other details, like approximate size.  Within a very short time I had two replies telling me they were Black-crowned Tityras.  The females have the chestnut patches on the heads, the males don't.

There you have my methods for identifying birds.  Now it's your turn...

That one is named for the sound its wings make as it flies.  It also does a display similar to our Killdeer when it's trying to distract you away from its young... and it is in the same family.

The next one is a kind of heron.... named for the sound they make.  I know the photo is not the best... it was taken late in the day when there was not much light.  They have very distinct marking on their faces -- bluish purple by their eyes, red bills with a black tip, and a few dark feathers which form a crest off the back of their heads.

 

And finally, a very small bird named for its appearance and for what it does.

Happy hunting, and let me know if you figure them out!