Get to know your feeder birds this winter

The best time to learn how to identify birds is now. The best place is at the feeders in your backyard. Typically, fewer than 25 species visit winter feeders. The key isn’t memorizing a field guide, it’s simply knowing which birds to expect.

Here is a list of common winter feeder birds and a brief summary of their most conspicuous characteristics. They may not all visit every feeder, and you may see others that aren’t on the list, but by learning this basic cast of characters you’ll be able to recognize 90 percent of the winter birds that brighten your yard. And after getting familiar with the process of identifying birds, you’ll be ready for spring migrants when they arrive. (For illustrations, voices, and more information visit www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html.)
Mourning dove — brownish-gray, chunky body, small head, long pointed tail; distinctive wing whistle as dove takes off; call a mournful, owl-like cooing.

Downy woodpecker — smallest woodpecker; black and white; white back and belly; bill shorter than head; males have red spot on back of head; hitch their way up tree trunks.

Hairy woodpecker — Like downy, but larger; bill heavy and longer than head.

Red-bellied woodpecker — poorly named, pale pink wash on belly; zebra-like, black and white barred back; white wing patches flash in flight; crown and nape red on male; red nape only on female. (Red-headed woodpeckers have entirely red heads and are uncommon.)

Pileated woodpecker — large, crow-sized; red crest, black body, white throat, white cheek stripe; male has red mustache; comes to suet.

Black-capped and Carolina chickadees — look-a-likes; small; black cap and throat; gray body; check field guide for range maps.

Tufted titmice — small, gray, crested, black forehead, pale rusty sides under wing.

Brown creeper — cryptically colored plumage; can be difficult to spot; bill is thin and decurved; rusty rump; spirals up from the base of trees and branches then flies down to a lower spot on another tree; loves suet and peanut butter.

White-breasted nuthatch — black cap, white face and breast; acrobatically climbs headfirst down tree trunks; call a nasal, “ank, ank.”

Red-breasted Nuthatch — smaller than white-breasted; black crown and eyeline with white eyebrow; blue-gray above, rusty below; short tail; voice suggests a toy horn.

Blue jay — large, bold, loud, aggressive; crested; black bars and white patches on blue wings and tail; black “necklace” on white chest.

European starling — chunky, medium-sized bird with short tail; in winter plumage body dark and covered with many white spots; bill dark.

Northern cardinal — bright red; crested; black face; huge orange bill; females duller.

Song sparrow — brown; dark stripes outline white throat; streaking on breast often converges to a prominent central spot; pumps tail in flight.

White-throated sparrow — white throat; light eyebrow stripe turns yellow in front of eye; bill dark. Whistles high pure, Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody anytime of year.

Tree sparrow — rusty crown; plain gray breast with dark central spot; two white wing bars. Winters here from nesting grounds in Arctic.

Dark-eyed junco — the most commonly seen visitor at backyard feeders; often called snow bird; charcoal gray body, white belly; white outer tail feathers; light-colored bill.

Red-winged blackbird — male all black with bright red shoulder patch; female resembles a large sparrow, brown and heavily streaked. Appears in late winter or early spring.

House finch — reddish and sparrow-like; head, bib, and rump bright red; brown crown; belly white with brown streaks; females drab streaky brown.

Purple finch — easily confused with house finch, but less common; more reddish overall; belly not streaked.

American goldfinch — small; dull plumage in winter; (in spring and summer males are bright yellow, black and white); yellow-green or brownish, dark wings with lighter wing bars; often abundant at feeders.

Pine siskin — small streaky brown bird; bill thin and pointy; male shows yellow in wings and tail in flight; favors nyjer seed at feeders; does not appear every year.