Bird Identification

What Bird Guide is Best for You (Audubon)
Whether you’re just getting started or looking for the perfect warbler app, you’ll find the right guide here.

Getting Started: Field Guides (American Forest Foundation)
There are several great options for field guides to birding, each with its own approach to telling the story and characteristics of the birds that can be seen in a given location.

How to Tell a Carolina From a Black-Capped Chickadee (Audubon)
Learn to distinguish between these two birds by their song.

How to Identify Birds (Audubon)
Before you judge a bird by its color, use these eight clues to guide you.

ForestHer NC: Identifying Birds by Sight & Sound (webinar)
This first installment will feature a quick background on the ForestHer NC program followed by a presentation on bird identification from Aimee Tomcho, Conservation Biologist with Audubon North Carolina. There will be time for questions, as well as an optional, informal time to have more in-depth discussions about birds and other land management topics following the webinar.

Guide for Finding Birds on Your Land (American Forest Foundation)
For birders, knowing the make-up of the habitat they are entering helps both in finding certain birds, and also in identifying any particular bird they may see.

Get Started Bird Watching (West Virginia Department of Natural Resources)
Characteristics of a bird’s appearance and behavior will help you to identify it.

I Think It Is A… (Oklahoma State University Extension)
Bird identification may seem frustrating at first, but once you have the basics down the process becomes easier and easier! Bird identification involves sorting through clues to arrive at the birds identity.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology Inside Birding Series ( 4 videos) (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
These videos guide you through the 4 basic keys to bird identification with clear instruction and examples.

Bird Song Hero: The Song Learning Game for Everyone (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Train your brain to recognize over 50 bird songs with the Bird Song Hero matching game.

Bird ID Skills: How to Learn Bird Songs and Calls (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
When a bird sings, it’s telling you what it is and where it is. Learn bird calls and open an new window on your birding.

Merlin Bird ID App (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
This app Merlin offers quick identification help for all levels of bird watchers to learn about the birds across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Building Skills: The 4 Keys to Bird Identification (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Learn to quickly recognize what group a bird belongs to by becoming familiar with the general shape, color and behavior of birds, and by keeping a running tally in your head of what kinds of birds are most likely to be seen in your location and time of year.

Birds of North Carolina: their Distribution and Abundance (Carolina Bird Club)
This website provides a compendium of all of the bird species recorded in North Carolina with general information about their distribution in the state