Bird ID Please

[MHampton]

So, I set up a bird feeder in my back yard, and after three days I finally hvae some guests. The Cardinals I think I've figured out, but can anyone tell me what the name of this little brown bird is? I would guess a sparrow, and of course, google gives me pictures of Capt Jack Sparrow. :)

Any ID would be helpful. Also, is there a book you would recommend for back-yard birds so I can get to know these guys?

Also, these guys are so little, even at about 25 yards with my 100-400 I'm still having to crop an awful lot.

Thanks.

[irfan.in.tx]

I would say field sparrow.

You may find this site useful:
Your online guide to birds and bird watching, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

[sbsbennett]

I think both the first and second shots are a female then male House Finch.

[sbsbennett]

A great field guide to have handy is the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds

[MHampton]

Thanks,

Steve, I think you're right, especially considering that they were both on the feeder together for a while.

Thanks. I'll check out the book.

[Patti Edens]

Nice shots! Agree with the Female and Male House Finch IDs.

I use Sibley's Guide to Birds. He has an East and West field guide, but just have the larger volume that covers the entire US. It isn't so good for carrying around in the field, but I don't ever carry books around anyway. I have enough trouble just carrying my camera gear. I ID them from the photos after I get home.

I do also have the National Geographic Field Guide to the birds of North America and I use it if I can't find what I'm looking for in Sibley's. Sometimes a different view helps.

In the past I would use the Thayer's Birding software. It helped when I didn't have a clue. You can put in key things like approx size, colors, eye ring or no, wing bars or no, region, etc. and it will give you a list with photos and sounds of all the likely suspects. I don't know if there is better software available now or not. There are some good websites:

All About Birds : How to ID Birds
Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
WhatBird | identify birds | bird identification guide | north america

[SilverShooter]

If you have an iPhone or other smart phone, consider the Audubon Bird Guide app. Not only do you get photos of the various birds, but you get audio of calls. Cheaper than paper guides, always with you, and serves as an electronic caller as well. As to your problem with image size, the only fix is to get closer. That means a blind or natural cover. When I was shooting song birds routinely, I found even my 500 with a 1.4 tele (on an camera that had a 1.6x lens factor to boot) to be too short to get full frame images, unless I could get awfully close. Either your feeder or a water drip serves as a good draw for birds. (With water, you get both seed eaters and bug eaters.) Camera noise will be a problem at the close range, so let the bird hit the proper pose before you fire off your burst of frames. Some lenses will not focus as close as you need to be. Consider extention tubes if that problem arises. One more hint, consider a tripod with a gimbel head for this type of shooting. (Wimberley makes a good gimbel head, but there are several other manufactures as well, including Really Right Stuff now.) A solid tripod with this type of head will give you a lot more keeper images at these very high magnification levels. Sorry to say, none of this stuff (other than the guide app and maybe a pop up blind) is priced to make this a painless pursuit.