It’s easy. Experienced birders do it subconsciously, using clues from the wingbeats, rhythm, and path of a bird’s flight. These are usually described in vague terms – the roller-coaster flight of a goldfinch, the slightly undulating flight of a blackbird – but I don’t know of any published effort to really define what is different […]
Identifying small songbirds by flight style Read More »
New birds are being added to the North American list at a steady rate, and there is no reason to think that the pace of discovery will slow. Some birds are expanding their ranges or pioneering new patterns of occurrence. Some species are being discovered in places like pelagic waters or the Bering Sea islands,
Bird species new to North America – a summary Read More »
Instead of song, most woodpeckers use a mechanical drumming sound as their audio advertising display. It’s easy to tell when you hear a woodpecker, harder to tell which species. Nevertheless there are distinct differences between species, and with practice most drumming sounds can be recognized with a high level of confidence. I’m comparing just Downy
Identifying Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers by drumming sounds Read More »