What kind of bird was that?
This is what you normally ask yourself or your partner when you see an odd bird perched around in one of those trees.
It is fascinating to see birds around you chirping and enjoying the bounties of nature or even the city life. What is even more fascinating though is when you see a bird you have not seen before.
Have you ever seen a bird that seems different from the rest? Normally we give these unknown birds a name – odd birds. These odd birds are either an un-named breed by the taxonomists or a foreigner to a certain area.
Bird watching is one of the most calming and peaceful hobbies available. Just sit down in a good spot and have your kit in hand. For the novice, you might want to consider taking along a good picture book of the common birds in your area so you will not tag a named bird as odd.
If you suspect that the bird you saw is odd, take a picture of it and research. Look for it in books and bird websites. It just may be that the bird is just visiting your area but is not really going to stay there for long.
If you still have difficulty in looking for that specific bird share the picture to an ornithologist or someone more knowledgeable in that field. It will be a great contribution to science if this bird is still un-named and you found that bird and were able to take note of it.
Another help you can add is if the bird is used as a bio-indicator and might lead scientists to know if there is something new or different in the environment. An example of this are some shrike species that indicate presence of pollution. So share your knowledge and learn from it too.
Remember to note where you saw it, the sound of chirps that you heard, the colors, the form of the beak, the feet, feathers, wing span (approximately), length, tail, and its characteristics (like if its moves around from branch to branch or if its very noisy).
No matter how odd or different looking the bird you saw is, just be glad it showed itself to you. Settle down and don’t be too excited because you might scare this odd bird away and you may not be able to finish looking at its features.
Enjoy bird watching and be one with nature.