Watching the way a bird behaves, like these Mottled Ducks foraging behind me, is what attracts so many of us to birding
But besides being fun to watch, the way a bird acts is also a good clue to its identity
On this episode of "Inside Birding", we’ll examine the third key to identification: behavior, and how it can help you make better observations and more easily identify the birds you see
Oh, cool, there’s a Palm Warbler just below the Yellow-rump
See, it’s flicking its tail
Oh, yeah
That’s cool
Behavior is a critical component of bird identification because, like size and shape, it's consistent and unchanging within a species
With few exceptions, Blue Jays always behave like Blue Jays, Hairy Woodpeckers always behave like Hairy Woodpeckers, and so on
For identification purposes, we tend to focus on behaviors that are most frequently occurring throughout the year
These are posture, foraging, and flight style
Unlike nesting and courtship behaviors, these are the things we see birds do every day
That thing’s awesome
A couple of Turkey Vultures down right
There’s another one
In order to identify birds by their behavior, we need to break down our observations with a series of questions
Now remember, we're focused primarily on posture, foraging, and flight style
First, let's take a look at posture
A bird’s posture can be broken down by asking two simple questions: where and how
"Where" is the easy part
And while there’s a lot of variation, most species prefer certain places over others
Male Indigo Buntings will perch and sing at the tops of trees at forest edges, while Ovenbirds are commonly found lurking in the forest understory
Many hawks, like this Red-tailed, perch out in the open and sometimes can be seen on the side of highways
And grebes, like these Red-necked Grebes, are almost always seen on the water
After examining "where", it's time to take a look at how the bird is perched or standing
Does it stand hunched over like this Black-crowned Night-Heron? Or is its posture more upright like this American Golden-Plover? A warbler’s posture, like this Wilson’s, is more horizontal, while cardinals tend to sit very upright
Also observe if a bird exhibits any repeated movements or ticks
These motions, like the tail dipping on an Eastern Phoebe are often unique to certain species and are very helpful for identification
The Northern Waterthrush offers us another great example of repeated body movements
See how it’s constantly bobbing its tail? The Winter Wren has its own version of this kind of behavior -- it repeatedly bounces its entire body up and down
Now, let's take a look at foraging behavior
Just as with posture, the first thing we're going to do is break the behavior down with a set of simple questions, first asking, where does this bird forage? Ducks, like this Mallard, typically forage on the water, while wading birds, like this Lesser Yellowlegs, are most commonly seen stalking prey in the shallows
Other birds, like this Horned Lark, like to forage on the ground in open areas and fields
And let's not forget feeders
There are a number of birds that frequently visit backyard feeders to forage on seed or suet
Once we've observed "where", it's time to ask how does the bird forage? Shorebirds, like this Piping Plover, dash around and then pause to pick food off the surface
Short-billed Dowitchers have a different style
They probe deep into the mud for their meal
Some birds, like this Brown Creeper, excavate their meal from underneath tree bark
While others, like this woodcock, pull it from the ground
Flycatchers, like this Tropical Kingbird, are aerial acrobats, sailing from an exposed perch to catch insects on the wing
And the White-throated Sparrow provides a great example of how certain birds can find food by scratching through leaf-litter
Even the birds coming to your feeder exhibit different foraging styles
A Black-capped Chickadee, for example, will snag a seed and quickly takeoff for a nearby branch before eating it, while a Rose-breasted Grosbeak will stay on the feeder to eat as much as it can
Finally, once you’ve looked at where and how, try to figure out what the bird is eating
Birds can be a masterful hunters and, like this Tricolored Heron, can make catching fish look easy
Warblers, like this Yellow-rumped, move quickly through trees and shrubs in pursuit of insects
Other birds, like this Carolina Chickadee, rely on seeds for their meal
And in the late summer or early fall, you can often find robins or Cedar Waxwings eating berries
If you watch closely, you'll be amazed at what birds, like this Purple Gallinule, eat
Flight style is more nuanced, but you should do your best to broadly describe what you're seeing, focusing on wing beats and directness of flight
So if we look at a tern, like this Arctic Tern, you'll notice how they hover on snappy, shallow wing beats, before plunging into the water to catch fish
Short-eared Owls fly with deep moth-like wing beats, punctuated by short glides
And ducks, like these shovelers, are recognizable by their wickedly fast wing beats
And shorebirds, like these Hudsonian Godwits, are commonly seen in fast-moving flocks
By comparison, Sandhill Cranes exhibit deep, methodical wing beats and arrow-straight flight patterns
Even soaring birds, like this Osprey, have characteristic flight styles that allow you to identify them
The Bald Eagle soars on flat, steady wings
Look how different this is from the Turkey Vulture's v-shaped, teetering flight style
While keying in on flight style may seem difficult, if you stick with it you’ll start to recognize the differences between species that will help you identify them
Brown Pelicans going over the crest of the sea break
About 35 or so..
See the Royal Terns on the beach? The diversity of bird behavior is astounding
And while it seems like one of the more difficult keys to employ, the fundamentals of birding by behavior are actually quite simple
It's all about your observations
And to make good observations, all you really need to do is spend time watching the birds you see
If you spend time watching bird behavior, the way they move, fly, and forage, I guarantee that you’ll develop a real appreciation for what you're seeing
And remember, just as with the shape of a bird’s bill or the melody of a bird’s song, the way a bird behaves is consistent within a species
This makes behavior a very reliable indicator for bird identification
So get out there, makes some good observations, and you'll take your birding to the next level
See the Royal Tern on the right? Oh, I got it.