Are you thinking about becoming a birdwatcher? Here is some information I have used in birding on how to identify the bird by the way its head looks. There are other parts of the bird we will examine in other articles.
1. Use the head
You can sometimes figure out what bird you are looking at by studying his head. To begin with, check to see if its head is a solid color. Note the particular color and any other colors on his head. Does he have a crest, which means does he have a pointed head? The Cardinal, Blue Jay and Tufted Titmouse are birds with crests I am familiar with. I just always thought of the saying, "bless your pointed little head."
Some birds appear to be wearing a cap or a hood. A dark spot on top of a bird's head is called a cap. A hood is a distinctively colored set of feathers that cover part of the head and neck. Some woodpeckers I have seen, like the Golden-fronted, have caps and some, like the Red-headed Woodpeckers, wear hoods.
Does he have stripes on his head? A bird isn't necessarily going to have all kinds of stripes on him. He might just have an eye stripe.
2. The eyes have it
Some birds appear to have masks, eyebrows and eyelines extending from the outside corner. The Loggerhead Shrike has a very prominent mask. I'm not kidding. Many Thrushes have eyebrows. Robins, by the way, are Thrushes. Other birds have patches of solid color on the "cheek" or ears (ear coverts). He might have eye-rings, as if he put on white eyeliner all around his eyes, like the Ovenbird. Other birds have dark eye-rings.
I have even noticed that some birds have freaky colored eyes-yellow or orange. The first time I saw a Brewer's Blackbird male his yellow eyes freaked me out. Since most birds have dark eyes, one with different colored eyes gives you a big clue.
Finally, check to see if there is a patch on his throat. The Orchard Oriole has a good example of a patch.
3. The bill is on the male (and female)
Next on the head, you need to look at the bird's bill or beak. It seems that birders prefer the term "bill" unless they are talking about raptors like hawks. Then they use the term "beak."
Is the bill long, short or in between? Is it thin, medium or stout? Is it curved up or down? Is the bill flattened, hooked or unusual in some way?
A bird with a long bill is the Belted Kingfisher. The Eastern Phoebe has a short bill. Blue Grosbeaks have very stout bills.
Also check the color. Some bills are dark, others are light, some have color and some have more than one color. Northern Cardinals have red bills.
This information is major in helping you identify your bird. A bird with a bill curved down (decurved) could be a Curlew. One with a bill curved upward (recurved) could be an Avocet.
Some birds' bills are so special the bill is a part of the name. Some examples are Roseate Spoonbills, Red Crossbills and Blue Grosbeaks.
4. Write or draw first
Let's hope your bird is still around after you have given his head a thorough examination. No, you may not shoot him the way Audubon studied his birds. But surprisingly enough, many birds will sit still long enough for you to get much of the information we have covered. Remember to write it down or maybe you can draw it. Don't try to look it up in your field guide until after the bird is gone.
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