Ornithology B/C

[courage7856]

I learned today that one member quit the team about a month ago, but my coaches neglected to tell anyone until today, three days before invitationals. I was thrown in to take his spot, and need to cram badly. Any tips for a newcomer who has three days of prep? My partner has some stuff, but I don't want to rely on her. My other events are Fossils and Ecology, so I have identification and ecological stuff down.

[kjhsscioly]

Your best bet is to memorize the passerine families, because they are the most confusing and similar looking.The remainder of the birds are fairly distinguishable with the aid of a guide. If you look in the inside cover of National geographic eastern and western bird guides, there is a "quick ID" chart that shows types of birds. You may want to scan them out and put them on your notes sheet. My partner and I have been preparing for over a month, so we have all the birds memorized, but since that is not possible, get a good field guide (Sibley's is good for newcomers since it has a clear layout and has "Order" pages, where it shows all the bird of that order on one page. It is a good idea to tab these). If you use any other guide (petersons or another) be sure to write down the page numbers of each bird on the official list that you can bring with you. Importantly, look over the training handout posted on the SO website and know the anatomical features and beak/claw functions. Though only 50% of the competition can be ID, much more than 50% may depend on the bird IDed.

Coincidentally, are you coming to Crystal Lake invitations? I also happen to have another event as a last minute addition for this invitationals, Environmental Chemistry, due to a schedule change and conflicts.

[googlyfrog]

My partner and I just took another test. It was stations so I can't really post it on the test exchange. But basically, it just showed a picture of the bird, asked for the order and family, the common name and scientific name, and then other things like what it eats, where it lives, things about their eggs, etc.

[courage7856]

Your best bet is to memorize the passerine families, because they are the most confusing and similar looking.The remainder of the birds are fairly distinguishable with the aid of a guide. If you look in the inside cover of National geographic eastern and western bird guides, there is a "quick ID" chart that shows types of birds. You may want to scan them out and put them on your notes sheet. My partner and I have been preparing for over a month, so we have all the birds memorized, but since that is not possible, get a good field guide (Sibley's is good for newcomers since it has a clear layout and has "Order" pages, where it shows all the bird of that order on one page. It is a good idea to tab these). If you use any other guide (petersons or another) be sure to write down the page numbers of each bird on the official list that you can bring with you. Importantly, look over the training handout posted on the SO website and know the anatomical features and beak/claw functions. Though only 50% of the competition can be ID, much more than 50% may depend on the bird IDed.

Coincidentally, are you coming to Crystal Lake invitations? I also happen to have another event as a last minute addition for this invitationals, Environmental Chemistry, due to a schedule change and conflicts.

I am. Thanks for the advice. Two people quit our team at the last minute, and my Fossils Partner literally said he wasn't going to help me prepare for Crystal Lake, so I have a lot on my hands. Good luck on Saturday!

[EileenofSD]

I bring good news for those who, like me, are lazy, and need flashcards to memorize even the orders! And the passeriformes birds! -trumpet fanfare- I really should have done this weks ago, but I have more on my plate than SciOly for once, and most of my time is spent sewing costumes and in rehersal for our school's one act play... -mutters- But, there will be more to come, due to the fact that our last performance is... A week from Saturday. Expect to hear from me more.

Here are the passeriformes: http://quizlet.com/1762802/ornithology- ... ash-cards/
And here are the general orders: http://quizlet.com/1762769/ornithology- ... ash-cards/

[kjhsscioly]

why do you need to memorize them...if you can have the list in competition?

[amerikestrel]

why do you need to memorize them...if you can have the list in competition?

You don't, but it saves time at the competition if you have the orders and families memorized.

[amerikestrel]

Question...

When you print the bird list for competitions, is it better for it to be one double sided page or two separate pages?

[crazy77]

has anyone subscribed to the birds of north america online thing from the cornell lab of ornithology? if so, is it worth it? do you find it helpful?

[amerikestrel]

has anyone subscribed to the birds of north america online thing from the cornell lab of ornithology? if so, is it worth it? do you find it helpful?

Personally I don't think it would be too helpful, because almost all the information you need to know can be found on allaboutbirds, wikipedia, or in books.