I am often asked why bird field guides are so hard to use and how to know where to start looking in the field guide when a person finds a bird in the field or yard. Learning how to group birds by visual clues can go a long way toward bird identification and will give you a clue as to where to start looking in your field guide. The information in this article may be utilized with any field guide you might have and I will try to present it without using scientific terms that may confuse the novice birder.
The first group of birds in most field guides would be the "swimmers." These birds are generally found swimming in waterways or lakes, although they may sometimes be observed grazing around lakes or in fields. In the later case webbed feet would be obvious. This group consists of geese, swans and ducks.
The next group of birds would be the "aerialists." These birds are most often observed flying over or around water. Many of them are fish eaters and may be seen diving or skimming over the top of the water and then returning to the air. Visual clues would be the proximity to water and their habit of spending much of their time in the air. These clues would lead you to the gulls, terns, shearwaters, petrels and albatrosses.
If you see a bird wading near the shore look at its legs. Are they long or short? If you can not see the legs look at the neck. Is it long or short? The next grouping of birds in the field guides are the "long legged waders." Visual clues would be the long legs and long necks and proximity to water. This groups consists of herons, egrets, cranes, ibis and the storks.
As long as we are on the shore, the next group would also be waders. These birds are much smaller than the "long legged waders" above. The neck is more in proportion with the bird's body and the legs, while being long for a bird, are not as long as the last group. These waders would include the plovers and sandpipers. This group can be further separated down by visual clues. The plovers have more compact necks and a bill like a pigeon while the sandpipers have slightly elongated necks and a longer pointed bill like a woodpecker.
The next general group in the bird books would be the fowl-like birds. These birds have a chicken-like build, have long or short tails and are most often found in fields or open woodlands. These birds most often freeze, walk or run away from danger. Flight is a last resort for this group which includes turkeys, pheasants, grouse, partridges and quail.
The next group is often observed soaring in the air or perched on telephone poles or fence posts. These are the birds of prey. Look for hooked beaks and strong legs and claws in this group which consists of the hawks, eagles, falcons and vultures.
The nonpasserine birds come next in the field guides. These consist of the kingfishers, pigeons, doves, parrots, cuckoos, roadrunners, nighthawks, swifts, hummingbirds and woodpeckers. Most of these birds are noted for having calls rather than melodious songs. Visual clues for pigeons, doves, nighthawks, swifts and hummingbirds would include short legs and very small feet. Woodpeckers and roadrunners are so specialized in appearance and habitat they are generally some of the easier birds to classify into groups.
The last group covered in the field guides are the passerine or "perching" birds. This group covers almost half of the birds in the world. They all have three toes pointing forward and one toe pointed backwards to allow these birds to perch upon vertical surfaces such as tree branches. For the most part, these birds are songbirds. Visual clues for this group includes the ability to land on narrow surfaces such as tree branches and the audio clue of a melodious song.
Not every group of birds is included in this basic bird classification attempt. However, I hope that it will assist the beginning birder to turn to the correct section of their field guide when they spot a bird in the field or yard. Remember: Not even the best professional ornithologist can identify every bird every time. The joy of bird watching is that you have a chance to learn something every time you go into the field or look into your backyard and that is what makes birding a lifelong activity.
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