Reference

Birding glossary

Plain-language definitions of the birding terms used across this site — from everyday words like plumage and migration to the odder ones like gorget, lek, and irruption.

63 terms

A

Anting
Odd behavior in which a bird lets ants crawl through its feathers, or rubs them on itself — the ants' formic acid may help control feather parasites. Grackles and crows do it.

B

Breeding plumage
The often brighter feathers a bird wears during the breeding season to attract a mate, such as the male American Goldfinch's summer yellow.
Brood
The set of young hatched from a single clutch of eggs. As a verb, to "brood" is to sit on eggs or young to keep them warm.
Brood parasite
A bird that lays its eggs in other species' nests and leaves them to raise its young. Michigan's example is the Brown-headed Cowbird.

C

Canopy
The upper layer of leaves and branches in a forest, where birds like the Scarlet Tanager forage high out of easy view.
Carrion
Dead animal flesh. It's the main food of scavengers such as the Turkey Vulture.
Cavity nester
A bird that nests inside a hole — in a tree, bank, or nest box. Woodpeckers, bluebirds, and Wood Ducks are cavity nesters.
Clutch
The full set of eggs laid and incubated together in one nesting attempt.
Conservation status
An assessment of how close a species is to extinction. This site uses the IUCN categories, most commonly Least Concern.
Corvid
A member of the crow family (Corvidae) — crows, ravens, jays, and magpies — a group famous for its intelligence.
Covert
A small feather that covers the base of the larger flight feathers on the wing and tail. Rows of wing coverts form a bird's wing bars.
Crepuscular
Active mainly at dawn and dusk, the low-light hours in between day and night.
Crest
A tuft of feathers on the crown that a bird can raise or lower, as seen on the Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, and Tufted Titmouse.

D

Dimorphism (sexual)
Visible differences between the males and females of a species — for example the bright male and drab female Northern Cardinal.
Diurnal
Active during the day. Most birds are diurnal; owls are the main exceptions.

E

Eclipse plumage
A drab, female-like plumage that male ducks molt into after breeding, during which they are briefly flightless.
Endemic
Found only in one particular region and nowhere else on Earth.
Extirpated
Locally extinct — gone from a specific area but still surviving elsewhere. Wild Turkeys were extirpated from Michigan around 1900, then reintroduced.

F

Field mark
A distinctive visible feature — a color patch, stripe, or shape — used to identify a species in the field, like the flicker's white rump.
Fledgling
A young bird that has grown its flight feathers and left the nest. "To fledge" is to reach that stage.

G

Game bird
A ground-dwelling bird traditionally hunted for food, such as turkeys, grouse, pheasants, and quail.
Gape
A bird's open mouth, or the width of its mouth opening. A brightly colored gape helps a nestling signal to be fed.
Gorget
An iridescent patch of throat feathers — most famously the fiery red throat of a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, which can flash or look black depending on the angle of light.
Gull
A long-winged waterbird of shorelines and open areas. "Seagull" is not a real species name; Michigan's common ones are the Ring-billed and Herring Gull.

I

Immature
A young bird past the juvenile stage but not yet in full adult plumage. Bald Eagles stay mottled brown and "immature" for four to five years.
Irruption
An irregular, large movement of birds well outside their normal range, driven by food shortages or breeding booms. A Snowy Owl winter in Michigan is an irruption; such a bird is "irruptive."
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature, which maintains the global Red List of species and their conservation statuses.

J

Juvenile
A bird in its first coat of true feathers after the downy chick stage, usually before its first molt into adult-like plumage.

L

Least Concern
The IUCN's lowest-risk category — species that are widespread and abundant. Most Michigan birds fall here.
Lek
A traditional communal display ground where males gather each spring to dance and compete for watching females. Sharp-tailed Grouse gather on leks in the Upper Peninsula.
Life list
A birder's running list of every species they've ever identified. A "life bird" or "lifer" is a species seen for the very first time.

M

Mantle
The upper back and the inner part of the folded wings, often a contrasting color from the head and underparts.
Migration
The seasonal movement of birds between their breeding range and their wintering range, often over great distances.
Mobbing
When smaller birds gang up to harass a predator — such as crows mobbing an owl — to drive it out of the area.
Molt
The periodic shedding and regrowth of feathers. Birds molt to replace worn feathers and to switch between breeding and nonbreeding plumage.
Morph
One of two or more distinct color forms that occur within the same species, such as the gray and rufous morphs of the Eastern Screech-Owl.
Murmuration
A large, shape-shifting flock — classically of European Starlings — that twists and pulses in unison, usually before settling into a roost.

N

Nape
The back of the neck. A red nape helps separate a male Red-bellied Woodpecker from other woodpeckers.
Native
A species that regularly occurs and typically breeds in a region as part of its natural range.
Nectar
The sugary fluid produced by flowers. It's the main energy food of hummingbirds, supplemented by small insects.
Nocturnal
Active at night. Owls are Michigan's classic nocturnal birds.
Nonbreeding plumage
The plainer feathers worn outside the breeding season — like the dull winter olive of an American Goldfinch. Also called "basic" plumage.

O

Overwinter
To spend the winter in an area rather than migrating away from it. Some robins and bluebirds overwinter in Michigan.

P

Partial migrant
A species in which some individuals migrate while others stay year-round, as with the Northern Flicker and Eastern Bluebird.
Passerine
A perching bird of the order Passeriformes — the largest bird group, which includes all the songbirds.
Plumage
A bird's entire covering of feathers, which often changes with its age, sex, and the season.
Primaries
The long outer flight feathers of the wing, attached to the "hand," that provide most of the thrust in flight.

R

Range
The geographic area where a species is normally found. A bird seen far outside its range is a vagrant.
Raptor
A bird of prey that hunts with talons and a hooked bill — hawks, eagles, falcons, ospreys, vultures, and owls.
Rare visitor
A species that turns up in a region only uncommonly or irregularly, including some introduced species. One of this site's three status tiers.
Resident
A bird that stays in the same area all year rather than migrating, like the Northern Cardinal in Michigan.
Rump
The lower back, just above the tail. A contrasting rump — like the Northern Flicker's white patch — is a useful field mark in flight.

S

Secondaries
The inner flight feathers of the wing, attached to the "forearm," that give the wing its lift.
Shorebird
A member of the sandpiper, plover, and allied families, typically found on open shores, mudflats, and fields. Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper are Michigan examples.
Speculum
A bright, often iridescent patch on the trailing edge of a duck's wing — the Mallard's is blue bordered with white.

T

Talon
The strong, sharply curved claw of a raptor, used to seize and kill prey.

U

Understory
The shrubs and small trees below the forest canopy, where many songbirds nest and forage.

V

Vagrant
A bird found far outside its normal range — a genuine rarity wherever it turns up. On this site, vagrant sightings are notable events. The Painted Bunting is a Michigan example.

W

Wading bird
A long-legged bird that feeds in shallow water, such as the Great Blue Heron and Sandhill Crane.
Waterfowl
Ducks, geese, and swans — swimming birds of lakes, ponds, and wetlands.
Windhovering
Hovering in place against the wind while scanning the ground for prey, a hunting technique of the American Kestrel.
Wing bars
Pale lines across the folded wing, formed by the contrasting tips of the wing coverts — a common field mark.
Wingspan
The distance from one wingtip to the other when the wings are fully spread. A Bald Eagle's can approach seven feet.