Young Birds, Tricky IDs

Lately I've had this experience a lot, where I get a picture of a cool looking bird that I don't think I've gotten before, and wind up stumped. After lots of time intensive searching I discover that the bird doesn't match anything in my guides. Did I just discover a new bird? Well, no, of course not. I'd be lucky to discover that I've remembered to bring my camera with me these days. Mostly what I run into is juvenile birds. Let's go through a few examples, shall we?

Here's a guy who has fooled me twice lately. And you know what they say..
Yes, I know he's just a sparrow, but your amateurnithologist is so hard up for birds lately that even a new sparrow can be a source of excitement. It's going to happen one of these days. Anyway, you'd think the markings here are quite distinctive, and on the head too, which is really the sweet spot for sparrow identification. Rufous streaks on either side of the crown and behind the eyes. Simple as that. Well, turns out this guy is actually a White-crowned Sparrow, who kinda looks nothing like this in adulthood.

Do you see the resemblance? Nah, neither do I.

Here's another great example

Wow, now that is a cool bird! Check the distinctive coloration- and also of note, this guy is big, and a bird of prey to boot. Should be easy as can be to identify. Well, it actually sort of was, once I could do a little searching around. Turns out in their younger days White-tailed Kites are quite colorful. Actually got a picture of him sitting next to an adult, for contrast.

Hey bird? Where'd all your coloration go? Gosh.

So, like, what are you supposed to do about identifying these guys? Well, for me, the most important tip was paying attention to the other birds around them. In both cases, the adults of the family were nearby. Also, if you start to encounter something that looks truly unusual, just start google image searching for "juvenile ______", where the blank is birds that you know are in the area, and belong to the family of the mystery bird you've spotted. I know I'll be going to the juvenile well much more quickly in the future, after these misadventures in bird spotting.

In conclusion, birds are weird. I hope you've enjoyed these birds for what they are. They may not be new, but they look new, and in it's own way, isn't that almost the same thing as being new? The answer is 'no, not really', but a blogger can dream.