Bird Shape Identification

Identifying birds and bird families is often done from a distance by observing the shape or silhouette.  Visual Categories can be helpful.

While you may not be able to do exact identification, shapes may help you identify a bird or at least its family.

To use the silhouettes below find which of the five groups the bird you are looking at fits into.  If there are more shapes in that category there will be a link below the silhouettes.  Learning shapes can help you identify birds.

Five Bird Groups

Predatory Birds

Silhouette types in Category

Bird types in group Eagles, Hawks, Falcons Owls and Vultures are in this group.

Song Birds - Perching land birds-Passerines

Perching land birds are the birds we know as song birds, flying from one perch to another.  Many are hard to sort by shape.

Silhouette types in Category   Click to see MORE

Bird types in group (largest group) Blackbirds, Bluebirds, Chickadees, Creepers, Corvids, Larks, Nuthatches, Cardinals, Finches, Gnatcatchers, Grosbeaks, mockingbird, Meadowlark, Phoebes, Orioles, Pipits, Robins, Shrikes, Starlings, Vireos, Sparrows, Swallows, Tanagers, Thrushes, Thrashers, Tyrant, Flycatchers, Waxwings, Wagtails, Wrens ...

Non-passerine land Birds

Waterfowl & Marshland Birds

Most water birds seldom stray from the water. The group includes swimmers, wading birds, Shorebirds, Upland water birds and Aerialists.

Silhouette types in Category Click to see MORE

Bird types in group Ducks, Geese, Swans Loons, Grebes, Pelicans, Cormorants, Bitterns, Herons, Ibises, Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns, Rails, Coots Cranes …

Land Fowl like Birds

Silhouette types in Category

Bird types in group Doves, Grouse, Goatsuckers, Pheasants, Pigeons, Quails, Turkeys