Which is which?

I admit that bird watching is not a particularly 'cool' hobby, but who cares? As long as you are doing something that makes you happy. As I have said before, I am enjoying birds more and more recently. But, like so many things that are either new to you or that you haven't done for a while, it can be pretty frustrating. I tried skateboarding again a couple of years back after an eight year hiatus. Not only am I older and more weary of getting hurt, but my body just didn't do things the things were second nature a smoothly as it used to. The same goes for bird watching. It takes practice and patience.

Fortunately however, the guys over at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology made the video shown below to help out. Identifying birds is more simple than it appears. As they point out there are four parts to identifying birds namely, (1) Size and shape, (2) colour pattern, (3) behavior and, (4) habitat. This video covers size and shape and the importance of comparison. The best part is that the diagnostics are universally applicable to birds everywhere. Get yourself some binoculars, a good field guide and, have a go. It is a relatively low cost hobby (although the hard-core birders often spend small fortunes on ocular equipment) and you get to spend time outside, a rarity these days.