Learning to identify birds a challenge Process requires time and practice

People new to birding have expressed some trepidation to me about their lack of knowledge in the field. They enjoy watching and feeding birds, yet denigrate their ability to identify more than the occasional blue jay, house sparrow, or cardinal. But the great thing about this hobby is that it can be experienced on many different levels.

Even I find it daunting when someone can differentiate first-year gulls from fourth-year gulls (I still have trouble telling some of the gulls apart, let alone how old they are based on plumage). When I read an article that discusses thrush identification based on the length of the primaries, I break out in a cold sweat. This sounds too much like politics – a topic most people (including me) find either dreadful or boring – or both.

When I start to panic about the finer, advanced points of bird identification, I remember that I have only been doing this seriously for a few years. A true learning process takes time, learning to I.D. birds is challenging, and other things in life vie for my attention. I am sure the latter is true for most people, if not all.

In addition, the learning process is different for every one of us. I find that discovering the life history of a bird helps cement its image more firmly in my mind.

For example, let’s look at two of our most common finches: the house finch and the purple finch. They look very much alike and present some real challenges to identification. However, each have different origins.

The house finch’s normal range is in the western United States, southern British Columbia, and part of Mexico. In the 1940s, bird traffickers in the Los Angeles area caught some, brought them east, and sold them as “Hollywood finches.” Some of these birds either escaped or were set free, and from then on multiplied and spread rapidly.

The males can be identified by the brown streaking on their lower bellies and flanks. Also, the pattern of red coloration (referred to by various observers as “bright red” to “rosy red”), on the males’ heads makes it appear as if they were wearing a red headband. The tops of their heads, and their cheeks, are brown. They are not highly migratory and will visit feeders often.

Purple finches, on the other hand, were not introduced. They originally reside in the eastern United States, portions of the Midwest, and much of Canada, as well as along a small stretch of the West Coast. The diagnostic clue to identification is the pure, unstreaked whiteness of the males’ bellies and flanks. In addition, they look as if someone had dipped their heads and upper chests into red raspberry juice.

Purple finches may also visit feeders, but they are more migratory. They will irrupt from their usual winter ranges in response to the cyclical production of conifer tree cones.

Females of both species have brown upper parts and white, brown-streaked under parts. The female house finch is drab overall. The female purple finch stands out because of her facial pattern. Although it lacks the red of the male, it nonetheless is boldly defined by a white eyebrow stripe and contrasting solid, dark ear patch, which is underlined by another white stripe. The effect is simple, but beautiful.

Afraid you won’t remember all this? That’s OK; you’ll still enjoy them, anyway. That’s the reason for watching birds in the first place.

Chris Corio’s column on birds is published each Saturday. Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Nature Center in Holden, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com