Once you've sorted your groups, it's time to narrow down the candidate species. Big Black Birds (eagles and vultures) are the super-size, darker-plumed titans that make spare use of their wings.Falcons are slender- and pointy-winged speedsters with steadier wing flaps.Accipiters are small, narrow-tailed forest dwellers with short, rapid, bursting flaps, punctuated by a glide.Buteos are the large, broad-winged, short-tailed lugs with spare and labored wing beats.(Northern Harrier, Osprey, and kites are a few exceptions.) These are the core attributes for each: Most birds of prey fall into four major categories. If you want to play in the hawkwatching arena, you’re going to have to rethink your concept of a field mark. Distant IDs aren’t made instantly-they’re built, by piecing together multiple clues that favor one species over another. My advice: Don’t be intimidated, but don’t be dismissive either. Focus on the traits you can make out: size, shape, overall color or tone, and the manner and cadence of the bird’s wing beats. As scientists learn more about birds and DNA, changes are noted and accepted and eventually integrated or rejected by various naming organizations and protocols.Birders trained to ID birds by their plumage are typically mystified by their first hawk-watching experience-from a distance, raptors may be near impossible to tell apart. * Note that different taxonomical classifications may organize these and other birds in another way.
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