Birdwatching Bingo Identification Sheet Hey Everyone! I hope you have fun playing Birdwatching Bingo with your family. You can even share it with friends and do it over social media. To help you on your adventure, here is an identification sheet with all the different birds listed on your bingo card. With the help of this sheet and some binoculars, you will be on your way to becoming a fantastic birdwatcher. Most of these birds you can see visiting a birdfeeder, but some you might have to go on a walk and look for with a parent. To play, download and print the bingo cards for each player. Using pennies, pieces of paper, or even a pencil, mark the card when you see and identify the different birds. Don’t be frustrated if you don’t finish the game in one sitting, this game might be completed over a couple days. A great tool to help with IDing birds is the app MERLIN. This is a free bird ID app for your phone from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. The website, www.allaboutbirds.org, is a great source too. Blue Jay - Scientific Name: Cyanocitta cristata - Identifiable Markings: o Blue above, light grey below. Black and white markings on wings and tail. Larger than a robin, smaller than a crow. Crest and long tail. - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar Brown-headed Cowbird - Scientific Name: Molothrus ater - Identifiable Markings: o Stout bill. Short tail and stocky body. Males are glossy black with chocolate brown head. Females are grey-brown overall, without bold streaks, but slightly paler throat. - Photo: Male Female Canadian Goose - Scientific Name: Branta canadensis - Identifiable Markings: o Black head and neck with a white chinstrap. Brown body. Typically found in large flocks, pairs, or family groups. - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar Cardinal (Northern Cardinal) - Scientific Name: Cardinalis cardinalis - Identifiable Markings: o Males are entirely red with black around the base of the bill. Females are brown overall with a red tail, red on wings, and red bill. Distinctive crest. - Photo: Male Female Chickadee (Carolina Chickadee) - Scientific Name: Poecile carolinensis - Identifiable Markings: o Tiny, plump-bodied, big-headed bird. Grey overall with contrasting head pattern: black cap, white cheek, and black throat. Short, stubby bill used for hammering open seeds. - Photo: Females/Males look Similar Common Grackle - Scientific Name: Quiscalus quiscula - Identifiable Markings: o Lanky, fierce-looking, glossy blackbird. A bit larger than a jay; smaller, proportionally longer-tailed and shorter-winged than crow. Staring yellow eye and long heavy bill. - Photo: Males Females Common Starling (European Starling) - Scientific Name: Sturnus vulgaris - Identifiable Markings: o Stocky and dark overall. Short tail, triangular wings, and long pointed bill. Close look reveals beautiful plumage. Often in large flocks. - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar Crow (American Crow) - Scientific Name: Corvus brachyrhynchos - Identifiable Markings: o Entirely black. Large, long-legged, thick-necked bird with heavy, straight bill. In flight, wings are fairly broad with rounded with wingtip feathers spread like fingers. - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar Downy Woodpecker - Scientific Name: Picoides pubescens - Identifiable Markings: o Tiny. Widespread and familiar woodland resident and backyard visitor. Its black-and white plumage is nearly identical to larger hairy woodpecker, but note short bill and black markings on white outer tail feathers. - Photo: Males Females Eastern Bluebird - Scientific Name: Sialia sialis - Identifiable Markings: o Adult males are striking royal blue above with bright orange throat and breast and bright white belly. Females are paler overall; greyish with orange on breast and sides of neck, and white belly. - Photo: Male Female Goldfinch (American Goldfinch) - Scientific Name: Spinus tristis - Identifiable Markings: o Small finch. Sharply pointed bill in pink summer, greyish-brown in winter. Small head, long wings, and short, notched tail. Adult males in spring and summer are bright yellow with black forehead and wings. Females are dull yellow below and olive above with two distinct wingbars. - Photo: Male Female Great Blue Heron - Scientific Name: Ardea herodias - Identifiable Markings: o Large and lanky with extremely long neck and long legs. Grey-blue with dagger-like bill. - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar Hawk (Red-tailed Hawk) - Scientific Name: Buteo jamaicensis - Identifiable Markings: o Most common roadside raptor across much of North America. Often perches atop telephone poles, light posts, and edges of trees. Eastern adults have brilliant reddish-orange tail and pale underparts with obvious band of dark marks across belly. - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar House Finch - Scientific Name: Haemorhous mexicanus - Identifiable Markings: o Males vary in shades and intensity of red. Some males are yellow or orange. Females are drab grey-brown overall with plain faces and blurry streaks on underparts. Red color is mostly restricted to head and upper chest, contrasting with cold grey-brown nape, back, and wings. Pale sides show distinct brown streaks, lacking red tones. Females lack bold face pattern and have more diffuse patterning overall. - Photo: Males Females House Sparrow - Scientific Name: Passer domesticus - Identifiable Markings: o Males have smart black bibs, bright rufous napes, and stunningly patterned wings with brilliant buffs and browns. Underparts are pale pearly-grey. Females are plain brown with cute face and lighter eyebrow. - Photo: Male Female Mallard - Scientific Name: Anas platyhrynchos - Identifiable Markings: o Quintessential dick. Males have a green head, chestnut breast, and grey body. Females are mottled brown with orange and black splotches on the bill. White wingbands on the front and trailing sides of the blue wing patch are bolder compared to other duck species. - Photo: Male Female Mourning Dove - Scientific Name: Zenaida macroura - Identifiable Markings: o Chunky body, small head and pointed tail. Brown with dark spots on wings. Pinkish-beige belly is slightly paler than wings. - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar Northern Mockingbird - Scientific Name: Mimus polyglottos - Identifiable Markings: o Gray with whitish underparts and long tail. In flight, it becomes much flashier with large white patches on the black wings and tail. Pale eye. Mimics birds, car alarms, slamming doors, and other noises in its songs, repeating a phrase 5-7 times before switching to the next set of notes - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar Red-Bellied Woodpecker - Scientific Name: Melanerpes carolinus - Identifiable Markings: o Medium-sized woodpecker that is not well named; rarely is the slight red wash on belly visible. Instead, not the black-and-white barring on the back and wings. Plain buffy breast and face, and red nape. On adult males, look for a red extending onto the crown. - Photo: Male Female Red-winged Blackbird - Scientific Name: Agelaius phoeniceus - Identifiable Markings: o Males are black with red shoulder path that is sometimes concealed. Males have rusty feather edges in the winter. Females are streaked brown and often confused with sparrows. - Photo: Male Female Robin (American Robin) - Scientific Name: Turdus migratorius - Identifiable Markings: o Fairly large songbird with round body, long legs, and longish tail. Grey above with warm orange underparts and blackish head. Hops across lows and stands erect with its bill often tilted upward. - Photo: Male Female Tufted Titmouse - Scientific Name: Bauolophus bicolor - Identifiable Markings: o Look for its overall grey plymage with paler underparts and orangey sides. Crest is grey, but forehead is black. - Photo: Males/Females Look Similar Turkey Vulture - Scientific Name: Cathartes aura - Identifiable Markings: o Large Raptor. Appears dark from a distance. Up close, dark brown above with bare red head. In flight, undersides of wings are two-toned; lighter on the entire trailing edge of the wing, opposed to just wingtips on black vulture. Wings are held slightly raised when soaring, making a “V” when seen head- on. - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar White-Breasted Nuthatch - Scientific Name: Sitta carolinensis - Identifiable Markings: o White face contrasts with black cap and blue-grey upperparts; belly is slightly greyer with brown on the undertail. Small, roughly sparrow-sized with large head, no neck, and long, slightly upturned bill. - Photo: Females/Males Look Similar **References: All information was gathered from the Merlin Bird ID app. Photo credit: www.allaboutbirds.org.** .