A question for my birding friends :)

[faerywings]

I am automatically tagging @mimes1 and @scrap-genie since I know they are my bird friends (at least that is what I tell myself LOL!) but anyone if anyone else wants to be my birding friend, I need your help too. ♥

I have been trying really hard to learn some bird IDs visually. I am getting sort of comfortable with most of the backyard birds in NJ, but I need help with figuring out finches vs sparrows. I looked online for the answer and it seems like the biggest trick is to "look at the bills." Well, the bills look the same to me!
They seem so "ordinary" --brownish, stripe-y ish, smallish that I can't seem to latch onto a unique marker to stand out in my mind. I'm sure that part of it is flight patterns or behaviors too but with it being so cold, I haven't had much chance to be outside long enough to observe.

Please help, what am I missing?
Thank you!

 

[vickyday]

This is what I got from a google search. I might add that, at least the finches around here are skinnier and the sparrows are chubby. Both of them hang out at the feeders, but the finches more than the sparrows that tend to feed from the ground any seeds that are dropped from the feeders. Hope this helps somewhat.

Finches and sparrows differ in several ways, including size, shape, color, and behavior:

• Size
  Finches are smaller than sparrows, ranging from 3–10 in long, while sparrows are typically 5.5–7.1 in long.
  
  
• Shape
  Finches have flat heads and short wings relative to their body, while sparrows have rounded heads and broad wings relative to their body.
  
  
• Color
  Finches have grayish backs with indistinct darker lines, while sparrows have more complex patterns of black, chestnut, and gray on their backs.
  
  
• • Beak
    Finches have large, thick, grayish beaks, while sparrows have smaller, conical beaks that are black or yellow depending on the bird's gender and breeding stage.
    
  • Legs
    Finches have shorter legs that are usually dark in color, while sparrows have longer legs that are often lighter in color.
    
  • Tail
    Finches have shorter tails that are usually kept down, while sparrows have longer tails that are often flashed and displayed.
    
  • Flight
    Finches are comfortable flying long distances over treetops, while sparrows usually fly lower and disappear into dense cover.
    
  • Diet
    Finches eat plants, preferring seeds, flower buds, and fruit, while sparrows eat fruits and seeds, but switch to catching insects during mating season.
    
  • Habitat
    Finches are native to North America and are commonly found in forests and areas populated by humans, while sparrows are native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia, and are now found all over the world.

 

[vickyday]

I have a new sparrow hanging out that I haven't noticed until this year....White-throated Sparrow. They are pretty! I love the red color on the male house finches, too!

I have had a ton of different birds hanging out at my feeders lately:
Eastern Towahee
White-throated Sparrow
Pine Warbler
House finches
Goldfinches
Titmouse
House Wren
Dark eyed Junco
Cardinals
Red bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Chickadee
I think that might be all.

 

[Betty Jo]

Awesome thread, Chris. For Christmas, I got binoculars and a bird book to identify birds in my area. I hope to go out for some close-up bird-watching in the spring.

 

[mimes1]

Hi Chris! I"m proud to be one of your bird (brain) friends!

For starters, lets just say sparrow ID can be very difficult. It's not uncommon for the acronym LBB to come up when talking about sparrows. That stands for Little Brown Bird. Cornell Lab even has whole classes for Sparrow Identification.

All About Birds is the Cornell Website that has outstanding instruction on Bird ID. HERE
Also the Merlin app is excellent, and will help you identify what's in your area by sound as well as visual prompts.

The only things that I think you're forgetting is:

• Vocalizations! If you can't see them, can you hear them? What do you hear? The Merlin app helps with that too. My most favorite bird vocalization ever is the White-throated Sparrow. I hear them, thanks to the Merlin app teaching me who that pretty song belongs too - but I never see them. So listen well, and you can learn to ID through vocalizations.
• Learn what's in your area. That will weed out a lot.
• Practice! Repetition is key - binocs and a good bird guide or chart will help. There are sparrow ID charts out there.
• HERE is a free sparrow chart from the Cornell Lab.
• Patience!! Sparrow are notoriously difficult to ID.

If the links aren't OK I'll remove them.

Hope this helps!

 

[faerywings]

Thank you Amy. And I love your "bird brain" and I mean that as a huge compliment!

FWIW- my algorithm gave me this today:

Bird Beak Types Explained: What Makes Them So Unique?

Learn how bird beak types reveal their feeding habits, habitats, and survival strategies. This guide explores fascinating bird anatomy like never before!

learnbirdwatching.com

Lots of information in it and I hope it is a decent website/blog. I trust Cornell but I can't tell about other blogs. Some "recipe" blogs turn out to be scraped content that sounds great until you read a little more and its a bunch of mish-mashed ideas. So if I am not sure if I can trust it, I always get a little suspicious.

Vicky- what a great variety of birds at your feeder. I don't have a feeder up at my house bu my friend across the street does. They gets squirrels as much as birds this time of year, in spite of the crazy set up they have to keep the squirrels away.

@Betty Jo Great gifts!! I can't wait until spring to get out and about. I have a small set of binoculars and Gary has a bigger set. I can use either when I head on a hike, just need the weather to be warmer.


Thanks everyone, for their input and ideas!

Amy-- I chuckled about the LBBs. A podcast I listen to calls them LBJs - Little Brown Jobbers

 

[bcgal00]

I second what Amy said about using merlin bird sound ID. I use mine all the time and it is very helpful. One thing to look at is how fat is the bird. Sparrows are rounder, plumper and a rounded head while the finch looks like he was on a bit of a diet, is slimmer, sleeker. Finches can have splashes of color, our male house finch has a lovely red plummage. Also, sparrows are often ground feeders and finches are often up higher in the trees.

 

[scrap-genie]

Chris, I'm happy to be another bird (brain) friend!
Amy gave you a good reply. The Cornell site is a good place to start (and Merlin is theirs).
If you're seeing birds well enough to think about their ID, you've already made progress.
Knowing whether you've got a finch or a sparrow isn't really that important at the beginning.

Finches you're likely to see are House Finches and the males with bright red on them will be easy. The females are by comparison drab and stripey but with a different look. Goldfinches are small and even now yellowish though in spring they'll get to their bright yellow. No other finches are likely to be common near you, I think.

Sparrows for you, well we know LBJs as little brown jobs, but the most common one in our yards will be House Sparrows which are European birds not related to our sparrows. They are sort of fat, bigger, and pushy compared to things like Song Sparrow (maybe not around in the winter in NJ). Chipping Sparrows might be common in summer and the similar American Tree Sparrow might be around you now. The common winter sparrow is actually Dark-eyed Junco that I think you probably already know. Song isn't very helpful until spring, but calls might help. One thing we look forward to about February is cardinals beginning to sing and also House Finches, so that could be nice.

Keep asking questions here too.

 

[faerywings]

Thanks again for all of the help and info! You are the best bird (brain) friends a Faery could ask for

I use Merlin a lot in the Spring and Summer and that was helpful to give me some ideas of what I was looking for and at. Right now, it's too cold to be outside for long and all I hear are some short chirps/calls.

If you're seeing birds well enough to think about their ID, you've already made progress.

Right??? A few years ago, I knew the difference between robins and blue jays, all black birds were "crows," and that was about it.
Eventually, I'll figure out the difference between sparrows and finches, today I should revel in how much I have learned.


You are all so helpful!! TY!