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I like Sibley a lot, too, but I also have a soft spot for the Stokes guides because they have photos and not illustrations, and I always found the photos easier to use to ID.

The Merlin app is great. I also like the Audubon Bird app, because it has a great search feature where you can put in the location, colors, size, etc of a bird you don't know and it will come up with a list of things it could be.

For raptors, I LOVE the Crossley ID Guide because it has dozens of photos of each raptor from different angles and distances, both in flight and sitting. It's perfect for a beginner at raptor ID.

They're extremely different! For starters, a Red-tailed Hawk is a buteo. Big rounded head, broad shoulders, medium-length tail, thick legs and big feet. Merlins are falcons so they're long and slender with long tails, and thin but very long toes.

Additionally, the coloration on these two birds is totally different. Red-tailed Hawks are super variable, admittedly, but they never have this gray tone to the back - rather, various shades of brown and sometimes slightly gold, with white-mottled scapulars. Most Redtails will also have an apparent belly band pattern - clear whitish breast, dark feathers across the lower belly, and then whitish or very slightly streaked leg feathers.

I'd recommend familiarizing yourself first with the general shape differences between buteos, accipiters, and falcons, as well as a handful of oddities like harriers, kites, and osprey. Eagles are kind of their own set of weird things but if you can figure out the first three on sight then you can look closer when something doesn't fit one of those. And when it does, you can then narrow down into which buteo, accipiter, or falcon you have based on finer plumage and habitat details.

A really good book to check out, if you're interested in raptor ID, is Hawks in Flight. It's a perfect primer to figuring these guys out.

well those two things are pretty much what I used 😅

I busted out this 750 page monstrosity, found a decent match, and then compared it to sightings on eBird for Pichincha Province, where Mindo is. Luckily Mindo (and Ecuador in general) is pretty well covered by eBird, and Buff-tailed Coronet is pretty common in the area.

Hmm. If you're looking to get into birds there are loads of good websites, but personally I'd recommend picking up the Collins guide (the standard and best) and a pair of reasonable 8 32 or 8 40 bins over any websites. There's no substitute for experience either, so get outside and find some birds. If you don't know what they are, then ask questions. There are no stupid questions. When trying to make an ID, assume everything you've seen is common and check what time of year it's found in the UK - loads of people forget to do that when starting out. And so long as you're enjoying yourself, you're doing it right.

That said, www.birdforum.net/forum.php is useful, if a bit irritating. There are subforums for almost everything and everywhere, and while it's global it's pretty UK-centric. Xeno-Canto has an enormous archive of calls/vocalisations, as does youtube. Twitter has a boat-load of helpful and skilled people on it. Rare Bird Alert (and similar companies) for if you get interested in chasing the rarities. There are loads of local groups/forums/yahoo or google email groups/etc for the UK too - here are two such pages for Manchester, for example. And then there are countless hundreds of blogs and personal sites for specific locations, reserves, people, etc. The RSPB's site isn't hugely useful, imo. It'll show their reserves and so on (as will the sites for the various Wildlife Trusts) but they do have a basic bird guide and an ID tool. It's not nearly as good as a book on the subject but isn't a bad thing to play with and will give you (mostly) realistic and likely suggestions.

I own and use the guide by Garrigues and Dean. I didn't look at any other books when I bought it, because I was a 7th grader and foolishly forgot to buy a field guide before I went on the trip. It was the only quality, english guide I could find at the time. The book is lightweight and very traveler-friendly, and although the pictures tend to be somewhat dim, they generally provide enough accuracy to make good comparisons. The range maps are also very useful and appear to be quality, and very rare birds are for the most part still included. Based on the Amazon reviews, I think most other people agree that this is the best traveler's field guide for Costa Rica available at the time.

This one is regarded as the best book for general bird identification in europe http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Europe-Second-Edition-Princeton/dp/0691143927

and this one is more specific and takes on the Sylvia-warbler familiy like Subalpine Warbler, Sardinian Warbler Ruepells Warbler and such http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sylvia-Warblers-Identification-Taxonomy-Phylogeny/dp/0713639849

Also regarding #2 picture, a Blackcap would show a much more distinct brown-coloured cap and would be more bulky. This show an Blackcap 1cy http://www.netfugl.dk/pictures.php?id=showpicture&picture_id=56273&language=uk, http://www.netfugl.dk/pictures.php?id=showpicture&picture_id=23434, http://www.netfugl.dk/pictures.php?id=showpicture&picture_id=35937

You might also want to try out the Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell for iOS/Android. It asks you 5 fairly simple questions (location, date, size of bird, color of bird, behavior of bird) and then gives you a list of possible birds based on ebird activity in that area during that time. It's very helpful when you first start out and you don't even know broadly what type of bird you are looking at.

As you become more knowledgable then a good field guide becomes invaluable, and I'll second pallum's suggestion of Sibley's Guide to Birds, Second Edition.

The enormous "fingers" are a useful clue for identifying eagles. I like this book for learning my raptors https://www.amazon.com/Hawks-Distance-Identification-Migrant-Raptors/dp/0691135592

I love the Sibley guides, and also make heavy use of the iBird app

https://www.amazon.com/WINDOWALERT-WA-LEAF-WindowAlert-Medley-Decals/dp/B0096UUSPC/

I use the Window Alert decals. They come in different shapes. I usually order the hummingbird.

Lost a beautiful large woodpecker to the patio door the day I moved into my home. Was devastating. Heard it hit. Found dead on the deck. Must have snapped his neck. Been here 4 years now and not a single strike ever since.

FYI: they have to be changed every six months. It’s a small price to pay... a few bucks a year to save amazing birds that live in the trees around my home.

[The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior] (https://www.amazon.com/Sibley-Guide-Bird-Life-Behavior/dp/1400043867)

I am not sure how this has not been recommended yet! It is one of the best IMO.

Guides depend on where you're from. For Europe Collins is without a doubt the best guide there is.

As for binoculars, I would recommend getting a simple 10x42 or 12x42 (the first number is the times it magnifies, the second number is the diameter of the objective lens in mm) to start with. A big objective lens is useful because that way the binoculars will get more light and therefore the image will be clearer in low light situations. Too big, however, and your bins will be too big and heavy. They don't have to be expensive at all. Getting a scope and three binoculars + six guides is bad advice for a beginner and completely unnecessary. It will make the hobby seem more complicated and expensive than it really is. All a beginner really needs is one pair of binoculars, one guide and a lot of patience.

As for the bins you recommended, I would only go for the bigger one and leave the two smaller ones. Especially the 8x21 will be quite useless. 8 times magnification is too little for most practical birding and 21mm objective lens will be too dark in forests and when when it's cloudy or starting to get dark. Furthermore a scope is completely unnecessary for a starting birder. It will just be another thing to haul around which you definitely don't want at all when you're just casually starting to discover the hobby.

Even something as simple as this can help prevent bird strikes.

https://smile.amazon.com/WINDOWALERT-WA-LEAF-WindowAlert-Medley-Decals/dp/B0096UUSPC/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=bird+alert&qid=1574728149&sr=8-1

That's what I use and I haven't had a strike happen since I put them on. They just cling with a little water.

Here you go!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B014DUPZ1Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1458480331&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=bird+dress&dpPl=1&dpID=51THaTAg9gL&ref=plSrch

It's only 20 bucks.

Maybe the Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior?

"No, THIS is a Sharpie!"

• Mick Dundee

Here is the desktop version of your link

I would get her This book. IMO its the essential book to have on birds.

Not falco, but these are my faves:

http://www.amazon.com/Field-Warblers-America-Peterson-Guides/dp/0395783216/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410889739&sr=8-2&keywords=warbler+guide

http://www.amazon.com/The-Warbler-Guide-Tom-Stephenson/dp/0691154821/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410889730&sr=8-1&keywords=warbler+guide

Also, hello from another Northern Ohio birder!

https://www.amazon.com/WINDOWALERT-WA-MAPLE-WindowAlert-Maple-Decals/dp/B001BO6EMC/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?adgrpid=55725767933&gclid=Cj0KCQiAt_PuBRDcARIsAMNlBdpmGoPCC33cjy20Smv9HKAgu8gQLLasZ77Fn_XW_URN-Cp2BfK7-aAaAknvEALw_wcB&hvadid=274731851923&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9002555&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=13186593064042877128&hvtargid=kwd-302794130092&hydadcr=6071_9609336&keywords=bird+strike+window+decals&qid=1574767968&sr=8-5

Just so you’re aware they have to go on the outside of the window to work. Windows have UV treatment that block that spectrum