Bird Identification

[Woody]

Does anyone know of a good source online to identify birds?  Recently we've had a couple of birds we are unsure of at our feeders and would like to know what they are. 

[Dotch]

You might try these Jeff although it takes awhile to navigate them at first. I've used the 2nd one a lot over the years and it's been helpful. The songs are sometimes as useful as the pictures themselves. There are plenty of others one can find through Google, etc. Being the old fuddy duddy I am, I still like the pictures in books and Sibley's has become my first choice.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1189

http://www.enature.com/FIELDGUIDES/intermediate.asp?curGroupID=1

[wildlifeminnesota]

Take a photo of them.then I will tell you what they are.

[thunderpout]

I have an old copy of (I think this is right)  "Petersons feild guide to birds" (the old fashioned book form ) that my aunt gave me as a kid... its very informitive, gives call/song descriptions, shows seasonal colorations, male/female diferences, summer/wintering ranges and more... I know there is a newer updated version that I think even comes with a CD to hear the calls... I thought someone told me there is an online version of it but Ive never looked.(the book version is easier to haul around than a PC)  But the old book still gets dragged out when I see somthing I dont remember seeing, its a great book. I used to bring it along on trips cause Id always see birds in other areas that I didnt see at home....

[Dotch]

I've always liked the Peterson guide too. It was the old standby at home growing up, a green hardcover copyrighted back in the Stone Ages sometime. We wore the binding out on it. I have a newer copy that still comes in handy. Got a Sibley Guide to the Birds for Mom last year and she loves it. A lot more detail than the Peterson guide in my opinion but it's a larger book, a little harder to drag around. I got a Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America. It's smaller, about the same size as a Peterson, with more detail. It also includes a lot of the overlaps from the West guide, something my Peterson Eastern guide doesn't have as much of. I also have a Golden Guide to the Birds of North America. It's okay, about the same size as the Peterson and gives a pretty broad look at the birds, not as much detail in the drawings as the other 2. A lot of material crammed into a small book. When in a hurry looking out the window and need a reference book quickly any of them work. It's all good!  

[Woody]

Dotch, thanks for the links.  I've searched those sites and a couple others.  So far the closest bird we can come up with that matches is the Indigo Bunting.  The bird at our feeder was smaller than a yellow finch, and skinnier too.  It was one shade of a brilliant blue.  We would love to take a picture-but of course we haven't seen it since.   

[Dotch]

You're probably right on your ID. The indigo buntings are coming through now, others have been seeing them, and wouldn't be surprised to see one here soon. They show up every year and normally like our thistle feeders.