Identifying birds

Start by clicking on one of the four main bird observation categories. A set of related second-level symbols will appear beneath the category you have chosen. Click on one of these, and a set of third-level symbols will appear. Activate one of these symbols by clicking on it, and images of birds that have this characteristic will appear on the right.

You may also click on two or more third-level symbols if you are not sure which alternative corresponds best to your observation. This makes it more probable that the bird you observed is among the birds illustrated, but the number of birds illustrated will be greater.

• 1. Date and location (nesting habitat)
• 2. Colouring and markings
• 3. Shape and size
• 4. Behaviour

• Click on the small green question mark icons at each level to get additional information and example or example images of birds with each characteristic. These should help you to select the right characteristics for your observation.
• If you want to cancel one of your selections:
  a) click again on the third-level symbol for the characteristic you wish to deselect, or
  b) click on the wording describing the characteristic you wish to deselect above the images of the birds that have appeared on the right
• Making more selections from the various options available at the third level for all of the different observation categories will help you to narrow down the number of birds that match all your observations. If you select more than one option at the third level the number of birds possibly corresponding to your observations will increase. For example:
  a) If you select “green” for the bird’s main colouring, the results include 11 bird species. If you select both “green” and “orange”, the number of possibilities increases to 56 bird species.
  b) If you choose “green” for main colouring, “very small” for size, and “wide” for wing shape, the results will be narrowed down to a single possible bird species with all these characteristics.