Possible? It might be, but most of the widely published “differences” are too subjective and/or too variable to be of any value. I dug into this a couple of years ago and discovered some deta...
I put together this matrix of variation in breeding plumage Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, showing the differences between each of the four age-sex classes. In this species it’s relatively easy to di...
Stejneger’s Scoter is the Siberian counterpart of White-winged Scoter, only recently recognized as a separate species. The two species are very similar in all respects, and only adult males can...
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2022/04/finding-and-identifying-stejnegers-scoter-in-alaska/
No matter how serious you are about birding, or how much you want to see hawks, a Mourning Dove will always have a stronger interest in spotting them. Birds that are in mortal danger of hawk ...
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2015/04/finding-hawks-by-watching-doves/
By the end of February, even in cold and snowy Massachusetts, Red-tailed Hawks are courting and forming pairs in preparation for nesting. It’s common to see the male and female of a pair sittin...
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2013/03/pairs-as-an-aid-to-hawk-identification/
One of the biggest challenges of identifying a Cackling Goose is just finding one, especially in the east where the species is rare and occurs mostly as single birds (of the relatively large and ...
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2012/11/can-you-find-the-cackling-goose/
Most Passerines only hold juvenal plumage for a few weeks, quickly molting to a more adult-like plumage soon after they fledge and before fall migration. It’s a plumage that is seen almost enti...
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2012/09/juvenal-plumage-of-songbirds-gray-catbird/
The flippant answer is “…because they look alike”, and they can be very alike. Most of what you read about yellowlegs will tell you to look at bill length to distinguish the species. The bi...
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2012/07/why-are-yellowlegs-hard-to-identify/
Among the many benefits of paying attention to bird sounds is that they give you an insight into what the birds are doing. Through their songs and calls the birds announce not only their presence...
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2012/05/understanding-alarm-calls-of-birds/
Molt is the process of feather replacement. All birds do it; they have to grow new feathers once or twice a year to stay warm, dry, and airborne, and in many cases they grow differently colored f...
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2012/05/the-annual-plumage-cycle-of-a-male-american-goldfinch/