41
votes
Accepted
What is this animal with orange webbed feet, a white head with black stripes, and really likes breadcrumbs?
I believe this is a bar-headed goose.
Source
Source
The Bar-headed Goose has a white head with distinctive black bars or stripes on its head, black extending down the front and back of the neck, ...
15
votes
Accepted
What type of duck is this? Seen in south-east London park
Not a duck but a small species of goose, Egyptian goose. They're not native to the UK, but have been introduced and feral birds are not uncommon.
The head can appear darker in contrast to the breast ...
- 25.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Did I see an Osprey?
The osprey does seem the most likely option. There are only a handful of breeding pairs in North Wales, but they are in your area so it's credible.
The wingspan of a small common buzzard starts at ...
- 11.7k
11
votes
Accepted
How can I tell the difference between an American Crow, and a Common Raven that lives in America?
According to this article, (How to Tell a Raven From a Crow):
Ravens often travel in pairs, while crows are seen in larger groups. Also, watch the bird’s tail as it flies overhead. The crow’s tail ...
- 69.2k
11
votes
Accepted
What is this black and white bird with thin brown legs and a multi-colored beak, found in Massachusetts USA in January?
It looks like a Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), which are quite common over here in the UK.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/s/starling/
Starlings love suet....
- 933
10
votes
Accepted
How does a European Robin differ from an American Robin?
American Robin,
Source
European Robin
Source
They are from different families of birds,
The American robin (Turdus migratorius) is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after ...
- 69.2k
9
votes
Are crows more interested in identifying individual humans than vice versa, and if so, why?
I support the accepted answer but wanted to add an potentially helpful anecdote.
When I joined the Marine Corps as a young man some 20 years ago - the first thing they did was give us a uniform and ...
- 339
9
votes
Accepted
Are crows more interested in identifying individual humans than vice versa, and if so, why?
I suspect this mostly is a result of need, and antipathy.
First of all I think your premise that humans can't identify individual animals within a breed or species is false. People who spend ...
- 9,668
9
votes
Accepted
What kind of bird is outside my window?
The bird you are listening to is a northern mocking bird. I am not sure why it’s making the calls in the middle of the night.
Mockingbirds in general are known for their intelligence and their ...
- 7,815
9
votes
What species of bird of prey is this? Kestrel?
I can't give a definitive answer, but it is probably a female kestrel, doing what kestrels do, which is to scan for small mammals either from a perch or on the wing.
The male's colours are more ...
- 3,849
7
votes
Accepted
Possible snowy owl seen in the trees
As the Sherlock Holmes would say,
How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?
If you look through the list ...
- 69.2k
7
votes
What is this gray bird that has black stripes on the side and around the head?
According to this page (cache here) it's a Chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar):
The Chukar (Alectoris chukar) is a Eurasian upland game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order ...
- 2,456
7
votes
Did I see an Osprey?
It's certainly possible in North Wales, one was reported near Mold a couple of weeks ago and they're quite mobile at this time of year. I don't think you can rule out common buzzard for several ...
- 25.8k
7
votes
What are these large black and white waterfowl with red around the eyes?
Sorry to ruin your enchantment, but from the photos, it looks like a Muscovy duck: a species native to Central and South America and Mexico, but considered invasive in the United States.*
They are ...
- 19k
7
votes
Accepted
Swift, Swallow or House Martin?
Swifts tend to fly higher than swallow and house martins, but the biggest giveaway is the noise they make. From almost the same page you linked you can listen to the audio file. A swift call is a ...
- 25.8k
6
votes
Did I see an Osprey?
In that area, Hen Harriers are reasonably common. They feed on the grouse on the moorland to the south.
By Andreas Trepte (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], ...
- 221
6
votes
Accepted
How to correctly identify a bird that looks like a Cooper's Hawk or a Peregrine Falcon?
That definitely looks like a Cooper's hawk. First consider this picture of a Cooper's hawk that looks remarkable similar.
Image Source
The other thing to consider is that in your picture and this ...
- 69.2k
6
votes
How to correctly identify a bird that looks like a Cooper's Hawk or a Peregrine Falcon?
One good way to figure out what a bird is is by going step by step with its characteristics. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has good web pages for this for each species. Note: It is not just the look ...
- 101
6
votes
Feather Identification Help
I think it is a secondary feather of a Long-eared Owl.
The Long-eared Owl caught my eye when I was looking through the book Tracks & Signs of the Birds of Britain and Europe. A quick internet ...
- 476
6
votes
Feather Identification Help
This is a tail feather. The asymmetry suggests that it was an outer tail feather vs. an inner tail feather--this distinction exists in most species of bird and a species argument based on this alone ...
5
votes
Possible snowy owl seen in the trees
The only possible confusion species would be barn owl. Yellow Pine is near the limit of barn owl range, and barn owl is very noticeably slimmer (not more plump) than snowy owl, so I think you're right ...
- 501
5
votes
How can I tell the difference between an American Crow, and a Common Raven that lives in America?
The biggest difference between ravens and crows is that ravens average 2 feet long with a 4 ft wingspan, while crows are about 1.5 ft long with a wingspan of 3 feet. These numbers can vary a bit ...
- 4,209
5
votes
Accepted
What is this brown bird with a white area over its eye, found on the top of a pine tree in Ohio?
Song sparrow?
https://youtu.be/wdaE7eaayKM
I am a western birder but that's what it sounds like to me. Out here they are usually found in wetter areas or in riparian habitat.
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5
votes
Are crows more interested in identifying individual humans than vice versa, and if so, why?
Another two reasons
The first is that humans vary much more than crows do - in behavior and in color (clothing) so they are easier to tell apart.
The second is that crows (and birds generally) have ...
- 151
5
votes
Accepted
What sort of crane, and what sort of snake?
To answer the snake part of it, looking at some information on different websites and your vague description about color (dark brown to all shade till black),
I can take a few guesses. It can be ...
- 31.7k
5
votes
Possible resources to identify birds while outdoors (preferably in the Indian subcontinent)?
There several apps for phones that would help a person,
eBird by Cornell Lab (This one is supposed to be worldwide)
Birds of India Specifically for birds in India
The Audubon Bird Guide App (Limited ...
- 69.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Possible resources to identify birds while outdoors (preferably in the Indian subcontinent)?
I highly recommend the Pocket Naturalist Guides from Waterford Press. I have no affiliation with the company, and I don't purchase directly from their website. I'm recommending them because we use ...
5
votes
Accepted
How to tell the difference between Lesser and Great spotted Woodpeckers?
Size:
The great spotted is greater in size than the lesser spotted. Perhaps that goes without saying but the difference is quite significant. The great spotted is about the size of a blackbird. The ...
- 8,004
5
votes
Accepted
What type of (young?) bird in the woods is this? (UK Lake District)
I believe that is indeed a young Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_jay
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible