Answers & solutions
Check your answers against our explanations. Remember, there are no ‘trick’ birds or extreme rarities among these...
BIRD 2
Here is a line of distant flying birds, which appear to be of the same species. They are long-necked, which immediately brings to mind wildfowl, such as geese. However, geese have straight, ‘smooth’ necks, and these have a more angular neck and head shape. Also, the bills appear too long and straight for geese, and the flat-topped heads look longer than goose heads. The wings are similar to goose wings, but perhaps showing more ‘primary fingering’. These birds also appear to have longish tails (unlike, say, grebes or divers), and not long legs and feet, like long-legged wading birds. These angular, reptilian birds are Cormorants.
Key features
l Flight profile like an angular goose l Long, flat-topped head l Longish, straight bill l Longish tail
BIRD 1
The nature of silhouettes is that all there is to go on, ID-wise, is the shape and structure of the birds. Perhaps the most obvious feature of these similar flying birds is the long, straight, narrow bill. This is enough to say that these are waders, and this is backed up by their overall shape. For waders, though, they have relatively broad and rounded wings (most waders have narrow, pointed wings), and the bellies seem notably deep, protruding like pot bellies below the main ‘plain’ of the bird. If the feet protrude beyond the tail it is not by much. So, a plump, rounded-winged wader with a long, straight bill and short legs: Woodcock.
Key features
l Long, straight bill
l Broad, rounded wings, for waders l ‘Pot belly’
l Short legs
BIRD 3
Here we have one of those long-winged, forked-tailed birds which send absolute beginner birders into a panic. Is it Swallows that look like this, or martins or Swifts? It certainly has the cigar-shaped body and tiny bill characteristic of these aerial insect feeders. In reality, Swallows and martins have shorter, more broad-based, pointed wings than this bird, and the Swallow usually has very long, straight outer tail ‘streamers’. This bird has very narrow ‘sickle-shaped’ wings, with hardly any inner wing (where the undertail coverts are, before the main bend of the wing at the ‘carpal’ joint), and extremely long outer flight feathers (aka primaries). This is a Swift.
Key features
l Very long, narrow, pointed wings l Neatly forked tail l Cigar-shaped body
l Tiny bill and rounded head (short neck)
BIRD 4
Here is another bunch of flying birds which all appear to be of the same ilk, even though we only have their outlines to go on. Luckily, they seem to have pretty striking outlines: notably broad-based wings, of medium length, which have very obvious ‘primary fingers’, flexing like those of an eagle! But, those bills are not the bills of a bird of prey; they are narrow, down-curved and pointed at the tip. The broad tail is shortish and blunt-ended, in some cases fanned. The bill shape rules out not only birds of prey, but also birds such as larger crows which may show similar primary feathers. These birds are Choughs. The combination of very broad wings, fannable tale and the narrow, down-curved bill is unique to this aerobatic corvid. In better light, the distinctive bills would appear red.
Key features
l Very broad wings with deep primary fingers l Mid-length tail which can be fanned l Smallish head
l Distinctive, down-curved, narrow, pointed bill
BIRD 5
Just as we are getting the hang of this silhouette game, we finish with a couple of relatively easy birds to ID, to restore your self-confidence and bring peace of mind to your birding. This bird appears to be looking down from a thin branch outside someone’s house (or similar building), which at least brings out the silhouette. It is a dumpy bird with a proportionately large head and long, straight, pointed, dagger-like bill (which is about as long as the large head is deep). It appears to have short legs (not really visible here) and the rounded body terminates with a short tail. This has to be the distinctive profile of a Kingfisher, perhaps about to dive into a pond, ditch or river outside this building.
Key features
l Huge head (compared to the body) l Long, straight, pointed, dagger-like bill l Rounded, compact body
l Short tail, short legs
BIRD 6
And we finish with another bird possessing one of those ‘dagger-like’ bills fish-eaters seem to go in for. This bird, though, has the opposite sort of structure to Bird 5, being long of body and long of leg (judging by its upright stance). Unlike the ‘neckless’ Kingfisher, it has a long neck, folded up in this resting position: one enjoyed by heron species. It is too slim and ‘necky’ for a Bittern, having more the build of an egret or Grey Heron. Perhaps the best way to distiguish silhouettes of these birds is to concentrate on the bill shape. In this case, it is too thick for either a Little Egret or a Great White Egret; and the bird is too tall for a Cattle Egret. This is a Grey Heron.
Key features
l Tall, upright bird
l Long, folded neck
l Long, but thick-based, dagger-like bill l Bill too thick for Little or Great White Egret