Bird Identification in Eastern Washington

A variety of bird species can be viewed in Eastern Washington. Many species live in the state year-round, and a variety of waterfowl and other birds can be spotted during the spring and summer months, when they are migrating. You can learn to identify these birds by paying attention to individual differences and familiarizing yourself with the marks that help distinguish birds from one another.

  1. Silhouette

    • Looking at a bird's silhouette is a good first step in identifying it. It tells you the bird's size, proportions and posture. The silhouette will help to determine the category of the bird. A songbird, such as a western meadowlark, has a much different silhouette than that of a waterfowl or marshland bird, such as an American white pelican.

    Field Marks

    • Field marks are the distinctive markings on a bird's beak, head, back, breast, throat, tail, wings and legs that distinguish it from other species. Once you learn to identify these marks, you can identify individual birds more readily. Both the yellow-breasted chat and the western meadowlark have a brilliant yellow breast, for instance, but the eyes of the yellow-breasted chat have white spectacles and dark patches, and the western meadowlark has a black eye-stripe and a broad, black V on its chest.

    Posture

    • The way a bird presents itself--its "posture"--can help you to identify it. Similarly proportioned birds can be distinguished by the poses they take on. Horizontal posture refers to a posture in which the bird holds its body horizontally and seems to crouch. Vertical posture is an upright and alert position. Posture is also determined by behavior. The bird may seem inquisitive, for instance, in the way of a black-capped chickadee, or stiff and assertive, as robins are.

    Size

    • Size can help you to differentiate similarly colored birds, or two birds of a similar species. For example, downy woodpeckers are only 6 to 7 inches in length, small compared to hairy woodpeckers, which are 9 to 11 inches in length. Determine if the bird is larger or smaller than a sparrow, a robin or a crow. These three common benchmark birds are a great place to start when figuring the size of a bird.

    Habitat

    • The habitat in which you spot the bird--such as grassland, swamp or deciduous forest--can help immensely in identifying the bird. Different species live in different habitats. The marsh wren, for instance, dwells in wetland habitats, while the canyon wren will be found in canyons, cliffs, rocky outcrops and boulder piles.