LBJs and other Birding Challenges

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When I first started learning to identify birds, I heard a lot about “LBJs” from veteran birders, but they didn’t mean former President Lyndon B. Johnson!  For birders, LBJs means “little brown jobs” and is the nickname for the many birds in the sparrow family so similar that it can be very difficult to tell apart even when you have time to get a good look at them. 

 

The very first time I visited Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge in 1993, I was pretty overwhelmed by the number of LBJs I saw along the Cienega and Arivaca Creek trails, and in the areas around the refuge headquarters.  I wondered how I could possibly ever learn to be able to identify them, and in all the years afterward, I have met a whole lot of birders who feel similarly challenged despite being much more experienced than I.  

 


It wasn’t too hard for me to learn the most common species in Western Washington urban and suburban habitats, because many have a distinct identifying feature such as the stripes on the heads of the male White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows, and the dark breast spot on both male and female Song Sparrows.  Over the years, I also learned to quickly identify somewhat harder LBJs like the Savannah Sparrow and Lincoln’s Sparrow by the pattern and color of their head and facial stripes.   But when I took the Master Birder training in 2011 and our field trips took us to the grasslands and high desert of Eastern Washington, once again there was a plethora of LBJs that stumped me pretty badly.  Our teacher Dennis Paulson humorously assured us all that LBJs would help to keep us all humble long after we earned our Master Birder credentials!

 

Living in Arivaca for most of the past 5 years, with the chance to see a wide variety of LBJs on a regular basis, has definitely helped to hone my  “sparrow spotter” skills. Though to be perfectly honest, I still do get frustrated with myself sometimes.  If you’d like to work on your ID skills for LBJs and other challenging birds, are a few tips:

 


·      Get a bird ID guide with lots of really good photos or drawings.  My favorite book for all birds is the Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America.  Its sparrow section begins with a two-page chart showing females of each species, which are always more difficult than males to identify. The website www.allaboutbirds.org has a link called Similar Species on each ID page, so that you can compare multiple birds that have a similar size, shape, and coloration to help narrow your search.  All About Birds also has a free app called Merlin that lets you filter your search to the region and time of year, and to upload a bird photo for it to ID for you.

 

·      Use binoculars, and practice with them on non-moving objects so you can adjust your focus easily and quickly when spotting a bird.  They don’t have to be super high-powered, but try to get lenses that let in as much light as possible.

 

·      Start by using these four keys before you pick up your field guide: 

1.     Size and shape:  If are there other birds nearby, how does it compare to them?  Or compare it to a picture in your mind of a bird you’ve seen a lot, such as a Lesser Goldfinch or a Cardinal.  Is it small and slim with a relatively long tail? Stocky and round? Relatively short or long legs?  For instance, if you watch White-crowned Sparrows hopping around on the ground, you’ll notice that their legs are long in proportion to their round, full body.  Therefore, its silhouette alone can help discern it from the slender-bodied, short legged Rufous-winged Sparrow or Brewer’s Sparrow.

 

 

2.     Color and pattern:  Sometimes this is hard to see if the bird is in dappled sun or shade, so before you try to pinpoint a species, let your eyes get used to the light for a bit if you can.  I also find that it helps me to say out loud the things I see: a plain-colored breast or streaked, stripes on the crown or extending out from the eye or bill, contrasting wing bars, dark or light throat, an overall buffy-colored or grey look, a partial or complete eye ring, etc.  Somehow hearing my own voice giving the details helps me recall them better once I start looking through the images in my ID guide.

 

 

3.     Behavior: What is its posture if sitting motionless?  Or how it foraging for food- in a tree or hopping on the ground?  Is it bobbing its tail or flicking its wings as it moves? All alone or in a flock?  It is singing or making calls?  This can help you narrow down a species even if you can’t yet see its coloration.  For instance, the Black-throated Sparrow typically sits in small trees or shrubs and repeatedly gives soft calls throughout the year, and male White-crowned Sparrows will sing their full “see me, pretty pretty me” song long after spring mating season is through.  Sometimes even on a sunny fall or winter day!

 

4.     Habitat:  Is it in your front yard? Out in a grassland, near a creek, or in a forest?  Most sparrows tend to feed on a combination of seeds, small insects, and berries, but can be very choosy and specific when it comes to their preferred habitat for foraging.  For instance, the Savannah Sparrow typically hunts through tall grasses for small spiders, spit bugs, or seeds, but it isn’t known to visit bird feeders, whereas a similar-looking Song Sparrow is quite comfortable at backyard feeding stations.

 

Once you’ve taken these steps, its time to consult your ID guide, website, or app to finish the ID process.   Make sure to check the range maps for the time of year that the bird is typically in our region of the country, but remember that because of climate change, many ranges are in a state of flux.   And if you still aren’t sure you’ve got the identification nailed, welcome to the club!  The fun is in the process of learning, and in gradually fine-tuning your observational skills to make it all come naturally and stress-free.  Happy birding!

 

Photo credits:

  • Song Sparrow by ADJ82.  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
  • Savannah Sparrow by Cephas. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic, and 1.0 Generic license
  • Sibley Guide by Emily Bishton
  • Rufous-winged Sparrow by DominicSherony. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
  • White-crowned Sparrow by Frank Schulenburg / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

 

 

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