SANParks.org Forums

I've realised from the Identification topics that many people sometimes find it difficult to understand the terminology used and also sometimes misunderstandings exist about the terms used.

I've collected images for and identification template from various sites a year ago which I thought might be of help. As far as I could determine none of these images are copy righted.

For even more great additional info also visit the ID help section of the SASOL Bird e-Guide. Especially the Glossary of birding terms and the very good Bird Identification template. When using a template such as the one provided on this site it teaches you to look at more than just the obvious colour etc of the bird.

First of all two diagrams depicting the major anatomical features of a bird



Now we look at the features of the head, eye and bill area



And lastly some features on both the upper- and under wing


I trust that some of you may find this usefull and that it will enable you to follow the lingo.

Have a look at this page.
It explains some of the terms used and then discusses some of the ethics of birding.