Practice Plovers, Gulls, and Terns of Portugal
Hi Portugal trip folks! Here is a little customized learning experience to help you through some of the trickier IDs you’ll face this fall. The SnapID tool is designed as a fun way to practice identification before you go. You can replay as many times as you want and your winning streaks are not permanently recorded. Once you’ve built up a reliable winning streak, you’ll know you’re ready for the field.
Easily-Confused Plovers
Plovers are great, and fortunately for identification there are clear differences in the field markings on the faces of the Kentish Plover, Common Ringed Plover, and the Little Ringed Plover.
Easily-Confused Gulls—Set 1
Practice distinguishing a Black-headed Gull from a Mediterranean Gull. Adults of both species have black heads in the breeding season, but come September, neither species has black heads, making them hard to distinguish from the Slender-billed Gull.
Easily-Confused Gulls-Set 2
Now that you’ve practiced Mediterranean Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, try with Slender-billed Gulls and Audouin’s Gulls mixed in.
Easily-Confused Gulls—Set 3
Ring-billed Gulls, Yellow-legged Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and Great Black-backed Gulls share similar plumages. Practice a bit and you’ll get the hang of looking for differences in the bill and leg color.
Your Turn to Practice the Terns
Little Terns, Gull-billed Terns, Caspian Terns, Common Terns, and Sandwich Terns look a lot alike. The trick is to hone in on the beak and leg colors.
I hope you enjoyed this customized learning experience, developed by the Bird Academy team and fueled by the incredible wealth of photos shared with Macaulay Library by birders around the world.
Mya Thompson, Co-Director Engagement in Science and Nature