Can you identify birds by their silhouette or song?

Though you may be drawn to watching birds because of their wonderful colors or fascinating behavior, when it comes to making identifications, size and shape are the first pieces of information you should examine. 

With just a little practice and observation, you'll find that differences will jump out at you. Study the sillouettes in the picture and see how well you can identify a bird just by the combination of size and shape.

Sillouette Answers: 1. Great Horned Owl, 2. American Crow, 3. European Starlings, 4. White-breasted Nuthatch, 5. Cooper's Hawk, 6. Blue Jay, 7. American Goldfinch, 8. Carolina Wren, 9. Woodpecker, 10. Northern Cardinal, 11. Black-capped Chickadee, 12. Mourning Doves, 13. Fox Squirrel, 14. House Sparrows, 15. American Robin

To become more familiar with silhouettes go to: AllAboutBirds.com-Size and Shape

Identifying birds by ear is also a skill that you can learn with a little practice. There are lots of learning devices. Wild Birds Unlimited has bird song CDs available including one that has Michigan birds only.

And the Backyard Birdsong Guide is a very popular book that allows you to enjoy bird songs at the touch of a button while reading vivid descriptions of their songs, calls, and related behaviors. To become more familiar with songs go to:  BirdJam.com and AllAboutBirds.com-Songs and Calls.

Also make sure your local birds are represented in the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count February 17-20! It’s a huge citizen science project that gives a snapshot of the bird population each year.

Everything you need to know to participate is on the website at http://www.birdcount.org.

Related Articles:

• How to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count http://bit.ly/wxa766
• 1-2-3, How Many Birds Do You See? http://bit.ly/z3EOrM
• Book Recommendations for Michigan Birdwatchers http://bit.ly/x5t2gv
• Most common winter birds in Michigan http://bit.ly/ywWdfL