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The most popular Products mentioned in /r/whatsthisbird:
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The most popular Android Apps mentioned in /r/whatsthisbird:
iNaturalist
Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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The most popular reviews in /r/whatsthisbird:
They're extremely different! For starters, a Red-tailed Hawk is a buteo. Big rounded head, broad shoulders, medium-length tail, thick legs and big feet. Merlins are falcons so they're long and slender with long tails, and thin but very long toes.
Additionally, the coloration on these two birds is totally different. Red-tailed Hawks are super variable, admittedly, but they never have this gray tone to the back - rather, various shades of brown and sometimes slightly gold, with white-mottled scapulars. Most Redtails will also have an apparent belly band pattern - clear whitish breast, dark feathers across the lower belly, and then whitish or very slightly streaked leg feathers.
I'd recommend familiarizing yourself first with the general shape differences between buteos, accipiters, and falcons, as well as a handful of oddities like harriers, kites, and osprey. Eagles are kind of their own set of weird things but if you can figure out the first three on sight then you can look closer when something doesn't fit one of those. And when it does, you can then narrow down into which buteo, accipiter, or falcon you have based on finer plumage and habitat details.
A really good book to check out, if you're interested in raptor ID, is Hawks in Flight. It's a perfect primer to figuring these guys out.
YES!!!! This reduced my bird strikes from weekly to zero. When I first bought my house (lots of trees reflecting in windows) I had so many bird strikes I was just a wreck. These have literally saved hundreds of birds.
Asking about ID guides on an ID subreddit seems valid to me!
I'm personally a big fan of the Sibley guides. I think the illustrations provide a lot of detail and clarity and really highlight field marks well. For your area, the Eastern guide is probably what you want, though if you travel frequently or just want a more complete book, there's also a version that covers all of North America.
I also want to mention Merlin, which is a free app from Cornell. It's comprehensive, really good at helping ID unknown birds, provides lists of birds most likely for your location and the time of year, and includes songs as well. It's fantastic and the sort of thing you'd normally expect to pay a good bit of money for.
https://www.amazon.com/WINDOWALERT-WA-LEAF-WindowAlert-Medley-Decals/dp/B0096UUSPC/
I use the Window Alert decals. They come in different shapes. I usually order the hummingbird.
Lost a beautiful large woodpecker to the patio door the day I moved into my home. Was devastating. Heard it hit. Found dead on the deck. Must have snapped his neck. Been here 4 years now and not a single strike ever since.
FYI: they have to be changed every six months. It’s a small price to pay... a few bucks a year to save amazing birds that live in the trees around my home.
Guianan Red Cotinga (Phoenicircus carnifex). This picture is on Amazon.
<em>Psarocolius montezuma</em>, Oropéndola Mayor (o Montezuma Oropendola en ingles).
Bienvenidos! Me encanta Nicaragua. Has visto el libro aquí? Yo conozco a los autores y es una guía muy bueno!
Because that isn't the OP's photo. I had a glance through their post history and they're not a bird photographer, so I searched the image on tineye and it pops up on a number of stock photography websites like this one.
For those of us across the pond, I feel I need to give a shout-out to the Collins Bird Guide app (Android & iOS), mainly for UK and EU. It's not free, but they've taken a really top-notch book with detailed text and made it into a great app with comparison features and more (including audio) so it's well worth the money in my opinion.
The only issue would be the size. Cuckoos are a lot larger (3x) than a Tit. However, determining relative bird size is always difficult.
Other birds to consider (still smaller than a Cuckoo) Reed Bunting or Northern Wheatear
Reddit only renumbers things that look like an ordered list in Markdown, but that's completely in line with the Markdown spec (scroll down slightly to where it talks about ordered lists). Github, for example, renders things the same way.
Then again, the argument can be made that Reddit comments shouldn't be such a strict Markdown derivation at all, since the huge majority of the users on here wouldn't be aware of this behavior.
In phylogenies I have seen, Muscovy maps as a sister taxa of Aix perching ducks, and is not grouped with geese.
What is the evidence that it is a goose?
http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v116n03/p0792-p0805.pdf
Okay, so this is probably the stupidest thing I've ever done, but I just put my phone in a speaker dock, played the song, and recorded it with my computer's microphone. There's a lot of background noise, so, y'know, headphone volume warning, but you can hear the song pretty clearly.
if you're in australia, each state has a field guide app that you can download. i use it all the time to identify birds
for example, the one for nsw is https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.gov.austmus.fieldguide
I think there is also an app of that Guide. I have not used it myself, but everyone who has recommends it.
The size of the feather would rule out hummingbirds as a source for such a big feather and the green iridescent tint would rule out blue jays as a source of the feather.
Here are some examples of male peacock body feathers for sale that look very similar to your feathers and are 1.5 inches to 2 inches long like your feather:
It could have blown to your house because it was on a pretty coat or feather boa or it could have blown over into your yard from one of the farms nearby... Hopefully you'll find out where the feather comes from soon.
Given your location, it is a Kinglet. And thank you for caring! Here's an example of the stickers I was talking about
Deluxe Clear Window Bird Feeder, Large Wild Birdfeeder with Drain Holes, Removable Tray, Super Strong Suction Cups, Transparent Viewing, Covered, High https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MECM153/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_SZrKIFDlXjo7R
It works well, just make sure the window is clean and dry before sticking it
What a weird thing to do, taking a stock photo and claiming it as your own. Looks like the original was photographed in Pune, India (assuming the stock photography credit is correct), making this an Indian White-eye.
If you wanna fix it, you'll need to do two things:
Don't use
.or)after your numbers, either leave nothing there or use something else like:Add an extra space after each row, like you did before your Edit: paragraph
This is because of how ordered lists work in Markdown (and in Reddit-markdown, which is derived from Markdown). Basically, as soon the renderer thinks you've written a numbered (i.e. an ordered) list, it will generate the numbers in order for you, regardless of what you actually specified. So, you have to write your comment in a way that doesn't let the renderer think it's seeing an ordered list.
OK, your hole seems to be a recessed lighting fixture. You can probably just install a light bulb. Usually they would have a flood light bulb. The one I linked is just a random bulb I found, not a recommendation.
Most likely the bird is just sleeping in there since I don't see any signs of a nest.
Not necessarily. Birds can see uv but we can't so there's uv stickers you can put on windows or uv liquid that you can draw lines on the window with
This is what we have, but we have to remove some to make it small enough.
I have these and they work perfectly. Went from about 5 bird strikes a month to zero in just a couple of days. And they look cool too, haha
WindowAlert Modern Square... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CAX363S?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
They're Not bad for an inexpensive pair of binoculars. I'm happy with em'.
I used to get bird strikes weekly because my yard has so many trees. They reflect in the windows and birds see a forest to fly into instead of glass. I bought those bird alert decals and literally haven't had a bird strike in the 8 years since I put them up. These are the ones I bought.
Yep i just picked them up on Amazon. Lots of different kinds but these came pretty highly recommended WindowAlert Leaf Medley Anti-Collision Decal - UV-Reflective Window Decal to Protect Wild Birds from Glass Collisions 2-Pack - Made in The USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JCMXNKG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_W14MQJ7HJDBFAEZK3G4M?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Mealworms. We get a giant bag because we feed frequently but you can get smaller ones. Also available at your local chicken/farm feed store. Kimoe 5LB 100% Natural Non-GMO Dried mealworms-High-Protein for Birds, Chicken，Ducks https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PFVFFHM/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_CANHR87H0HKZNNX021T9
Here you go!. I don't have this one yet, but I have an earlier Peterson guide to nests of the Western U.S., and it's pretty good.
I'd also recommend Merlin, which is a free app and excellent all-around field guide, and if you want a specific raptor book, the Crossley ID Guide is a neat one.
Looks like a dart from a blow gun, like one of these... what you are seeing is the little cup on the end, the rest is imbedded.
We got a free 5lbs bag of seed from Wild Birds Unlimited (one in Cary near the Walmart on Tryon x Kildaire, another in Raleigh near the Lidl on Wake Forest Road) that we were getting rid of before switching back to the Wagner’s mix we use. We’ll probably switch to buying seed from them now instead of Amazon, since it’s actually a slightly better price locally and they still have good mixes.
Also, we feed the squirrels in our area a variety of unsalted nuts (gotta go for nuts that aren’t too high in fat content) and they generally leave our feeders alone as long as they have treats. At the last place we lived we probably went a little too far and at one point we’re hand feeding the squirrels from our back door lol
[Tried to post this here as a text post yesterday, but it looks like this subreddit automatically spam-blocks text posts. Only one moderator, who seems to be away, so I'm reposting this as a link post to get past the filter. Below is the content of the original post, including a link to the same drawing.]
My girlfriend saw a warbler in the park today, and got a very good look at it. She said it was acting very much like a warbler, flitting from branch to branch in some very low trees, not quite as fast as a kinglet, and had a warblery beak.
Here's how she described its appearance:
Completely yellow below, with bold chestnut streaking on the breast. Not lemon-yellow like a goldfinch, more like the yellow of a yellow warbler.
Olive on the back, with faint pale wingbar.
Yellow above and below the eye, looked kind of like a broken eyering. Brown/reddish cap on top of its head.
Tail had black on the edges. I showed her a picture of the tail of a yellow-rumped warbler I saw nearby in the same park, with its tailspots, and she said yes like that.
Colors were vibrant, not drab like an orange-crowned warbler.
Then she drew a picture from memory: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN2TC9vH6cwMsr-9IFsjJrBlKRz-naXdE_imNYSmEv6UKOimOFX6exiOuKY8RKMJg?key=NVpVNE11RHcyZjFPd2R1dEo3NEJNOXV6NGVIWDNn - although she said it was hard to do the slight wingbars and the appearance of a broken eyering in the picture.
Well... this picture looks exactly like what I thought was most likely based on her description. Except we're in Seattle, and I didn't think this is in their range. Maybe a straggling migrant from Alberta to the California coast?
Is there anything else it could reasonably be, based on this description and drawing?
(I'm intentionally not naming the bird I would be sure this is if we were in its range, so as not to bias people)
The local experts disagree. Half say Yellow-green, the other half say Red-eyed. Any help in ID would be greatly appreciated. More images are available here.
I wonder if this bird underwent rehab at some point. It is truly incredible that it will come and land on you, unmotivated by food!
Kind of a silly idea you could try: buy one of these fly traps, which emits the stench of death. I guarantee it will attract flies if there are any nearby. Maybe your friend will eat them?
https://www.amazon.com/Victor-M380-Magnet-Reusable-Trap/dp/B00004RBDW/
Yes, back in 2010 in April. That's where the picture was taken. Heres pictures from my visit
I'm a little thrown off by the extent of the black on the bill. Also, the tail had much less black/more extensive white and there was a little brown. The color in the picture isn't great, the bill was definitely yellow, almost brightly so. The legs looked a little pinkish, but the bird was always in water so I never got a good look at what color they actually were. Pic 2
I know of that! I use Audubons bird app on my phone, and it's somewhat linked to ebird. Shows you local bird sightings, birds seen per area (our county has an extension metropark system with tons of parks) and sightings in those parks are listed too. Tho I don't have an account myself, that's something I've been meaning to set up so I can add to the sightings list.
Also, if you're interested, here's a link to my girlfriends Flickr, she has more of our bird photos that I don't have included in the album, as well as some other interesting photos.
u/srb846 is correct -- it's a water wiggler that also glows with a rainbow light at dusk. By keeping the water moving, it keeps mosquitos out of the water and attracts the birds. There's a chickadee that I often see standing under the dome, letting the rotating bumpers swish its tail feathers. I used to worry that the agitator would tangle its feathers, but it flies away without a problem, and returns to repeat the fun.
Yes, exactly!
Stuff like this works great for me. All my feeders are between a big hedge to give them cover, and a large plate window in the kitchen. These decals pretty much eliminated bird bonks.
For sure. I tried summoning help but may have messed up. Maybe it's a singular Window! or a !windows or a !window ?
Anyways, you can put it in a plain shoebox/cardboard box and place it in a secure, shaded spot outside. Keep an eye out for predators. Do not give it food or water. And do look into UV stickers!
Yes the goldfinches in my garden only eat the sunflower hearts and nothing else. This is the feeder I use:
I had a junco doing this to my glass deck door as well! We put up some anti-window-strike decals and he stopped. You can find them on Amazon.
We have some anti-collision decals on our front windows. There are a lot of varieties of them and I believe they look pretty bland to us but stand out to birds who can see better than we can. I did a quick search on Amazon and found these boring business friendly ones. I hope you are allowed to try them out to protect future birds.
What about a Rear-Tailed Evader? (Seen on cover)
The bird in the first photo is sporting the characteristic 'belly band', the speckled cummerbund that is a dead giveaway you're looking at a Red-tailed Hawk. Red-taileds vary considerably in plumage across the country, but especially in the Midwest and Eastern US, they will almost always have this easily identifiable field mark.
Your second hawk is slightly more difficult because it is an immature bird - adult Red-shouldered Hawks are quite strikingly colored, but younger birds can resemble other hawk species. In this case, the long tail on a chunky buteo body is a helpful clue, and a Red-tailed Hawk in your area would usually have that belly band.
The Cornell Lab lab courses, including the hawks course, are quite good. I would also recommend 'Hawks in Flight', which is often laugh-out-loud funny and provides excellent advice on IDing American raptors.
Happy birding!
It has a screen, this is the one I got: Nature's Way Bird Products CWF3 Cedar Platform Tray Bird Feeder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C61VR2G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_aTNXFbYNM30J3
It is the most popular feeder at my station, probably because I put the sunflower chips there and it’s also easy to clean. Something that I don’t like is that big birds like California Jay or Doves will come to this feeder and scare the smaller birds but overall I’m happy with it.
Check our this app!
It will try to identify any animal or plant picture you submit.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/inaturalist/id421397028
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.inaturalist.android&hl=en_US
Yes the feeder is from Amazon link here
Squirrels have taken the top off and dumped out all the peanuts once, but I have since tied off the top with a twist tie and it has been secure since.
Holy moly, that's quite the price ($1200 on Amazon assuming I'm looking at the right lens). I'm a full-time student, so perhaps this would have to wait until I start making my own income.
Anyways, thanks for the pointers, I'll keep this on my radar!
Glad to be able to help out! I strongly recommend picking up a copy of Hawks in Flight if you want more pointers. It's probably the single best resource focused on North American raptors available. Jerry Liguori's books (should be listed as related) are also fantastic.
How can computers learn to recognize birds from sounds? The BirdNET research project uses artificial intelligence neural networks to train computers to identify more than 500 of the most common species of North America and Germany. Help us test this prototype app by recording a file using the internal microphone of your Android device and seeing if BirdNET correctly identifies the probable bird species present in your recording.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.tu_chemnitz.mi.kahst.birdnet
They're basically woodpeckers. If you have property, set up a suet feeder. suet feeder I recommend one made of recycled plastic that has a paddle for woodpeckers to rest their tails on (Flickers prefer this especially.) suet cakes are cheap, too. I regularly have big flickers fly in and land on mine to have a snack. I have it against my patio door so it makes a loud BANG which I find amusing.
I like Sibley a lot, too, but I also have a soft spot for the Stokes guides because they have photos and not illustrations, and I always found the photos easier to use to ID.
The Merlin app is great. I also like the Audubon Bird app, because it has a great search feature where you can put in the location, colors, size, etc of a bird you don't know and it will come up with a list of things it could be.
For raptors, I LOVE the Crossley ID Guide because it has dozens of photos of each raptor from different angles and distances, both in flight and sitting. It's perfect for a beginner at raptor ID.
It's just one of these Foscams. We originally bought it because one of the cats had issues with the litterbox and we weren't sure which one it was. Once we identified him, we just moved the camera to the windowsill overlooking the feeder. It's set to take a quick burst of 6 photos when it senses motion and then emails them to us. We don't bother with most of the features on it.
I use an iPhone, usually with my 8x42 binoculars. This time I had a scope with me. I'm never after great photography, I just hope to get something good enough to verify the bird! It's definitely not easy, but I like to go out with as little gear as possible.
I haven't, but have you ever tried a digiscoping adapter like:
Carson HookUpz iPhone 6 Digiscoping Adapter for Most Full Sized Binoculars (IB-642) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S7OG7VW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_sYmFwb673XDSM
The Collins is unrivaled in Europe and is a must have for any birder, but if you absolutely must have another one I would recommend Johnsson.
Guides depend on where you're from. For Europe Collins is without a doubt the best guide there is.
As for binoculars, I would recommend getting a simple 10x42 or 12x42 (the first number is the times it magnifies, the second number is the diameter of the objective lens in mm) to start with. A big objective lens is useful because that way the binoculars will get more light and therefore the image will be clearer in low light situations. Too big, however, and your bins will be too big and heavy. They don't have to be expensive at all. Getting a scope and three binoculars + six guides is bad advice for a beginner and completely unnecessary. It will make the hobby seem more complicated and expensive than it really is. All a beginner really needs is one pair of binoculars, one guide and a lot of patience.
As for the bins you recommended, I would only go for the bigger one and leave the two smaller ones. Especially the 8x21 will be quite useless. 8 times magnification is too little for most practical birding and 21mm objective lens will be too dark in forests and when when it's cloudy or starting to get dark. Furthermore a scope is completely unnecessary for a starting birder. It will just be another thing to haul around which you definitely don't want at all when you're just casually starting to discover the hobby.