Birds at Home Virtual Learning Series: Basics of Identifying Sparrows – AT

Presented by Kenn Kaufman

​The North American sparrows seem to create an unreasonable amount of confusion and difficulty for the average birder.  This is partly because they are often hard to see, partly because there are so many species to choose among, and partly because the field marks for many of them seem to be so similar.  A birder catching a glimpse of a sparrow may be at a loss to even begin to put a name on it.

The best approach to identifying sparrows doesn’t begin with field marks at all.  In this program, Kenn will illustrate the importance of putting the sparrows into groups on the basis of their shapes, habitats, and behavior. Once a sparrow has been placed in the right group, it becomes much easier to narrow it down to species by looking at a few key field marks.  By getting past the ID challenge, we can focus on the beauty of these subtle birds.

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VMS Code: AT: Chapter Approved AT-Elm Fork:TMN AT Report Hours