Field Mark Definitions
1. Crown: Often applied to the whole of the
top of the head, including the forehead and the upper part of the nape.
However, it most often refers to the very top of the head between these
two areas. From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
2. Forehead: The front part of the crown, extending
down to the base of the bill. It may be distinctively coloured, as in the
white (unfeathered) 'frontal shield' of the White-fronted Goose Anser
albifrons and in the red (feathered) forehead of the Redpoll Carduelis
flammea . From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
3. Eyebrow: A more or less prominent curving
streak above a bird's eye, not to be confused with an eye stripe. A good
example is found in the Redwing Turdus iliacus. From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
4. Eye-ring: A ring of colour around the eye,
as seen, for example, in the male Blackbird Turdus merula. It is also called
an
'orbital ring'. From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
5. Eye line: A line 'through' a bird's eye,
as seen, for example, in the Blue Tit Parus caeruleus.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
6. Nape: The back of a bird's head between the
crown and the hind neck. The adjective, meaning 'of the nape', is 'nuchal'.
The angle at the rear end of the head is called the 'occiput', for
which the adjective is 'occiptital'.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
7. Upper Mandible: One of the two parts of a
bird's bill (the upper and lower mandibles). They are bony outgrowths from
the skull covered with horny sheaths of keratin.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
8. Ear Patch: The short feathers covering the
ears, which have no external parts and are situated behind and slightly
below the eyes. From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
9. Lower Mandible: One of the two parts of a
bird's bill (the upper and lower mandibles). They are bony outgrowths from
the skull covered with horny sheaths of keratin. From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
10. Back: The part of a bird's exterior between
the mantle and the rump, thus the middle part of the bird's upper surface.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
11. Throat: The part of a bird's exterior immediately
below the chin and above the breast. The adjective meaning 'of the
throat' is 'gular'. From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
12. Scapulars: The feathers which cover the
shoulder of a bird, namely the area where the upperwing joins the body.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
13. Secondary Feathers: The inner flight feathers
('remiges') of a bird's wing, between the primary and tertiary feathers.
The secondaries vary in number from nine to twenty, according to
the type of bird, and they are embedded in the skin of the bird's 'forearm'.
Their chief use is in propulsion.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
14. Shoulder: Feathers overlying bases of
the scapulars.
15. Wing bars: A line across the wing contrasting
in colour with the rest of it. A long and fairly wide wing bar, such as
that of the Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa, may be called a 'wing stripe'.
Wing bars and stripes are importanti identification features in many species
... From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
16. Rump: The section of a bird's upperparts
immediately above the upper tail coverts. It is often conspicuously coloured
and so can be an important identification feature, for example in some
types of wader. The rump is also called the 'uropygium'.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
17. Belly: The lowest part of the undersurface
of a bird. From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
18. Breast: The part of a bird's exterior between
the throat and the belly. The upper part of the breast may be called the
'chest'. From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
19. Uppertail Coverts: Feathers which cover
the base of the tail.
20. Side: Between the belly and the wing.
21. Primaries: The outer flight feathers ('remiges')
of a bird's wing, used chiefly in manoeuvring. There are usually ten primaries
and they are embedded in the skin of the bird's hand. The secondary and
tertiary feathers, which are shorter than the primaries, form the other
group of flight feathers. From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
22. Outer Tail Feathers: Part of the tail farthest
from the center.
23. Undertail Coverts: Feathers covering underside
of base of tail. Also called crissum.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
24. Flank: The side of a bird's belly, appearing
immediately below the forepart of the closed wing. The flanks may have
a
distinctive pattern or colour, as in the Water
Rail Rallus acquaticus and Redwing Turdus iliacus respectively.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
25. Moustachial stripe: A streak extending
backwards and downwards from the base of the bill, above the malar region,
as seen in the Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus and the Reed Bunting Emberiza
schoeniclus. This feature may also be called a 'whisker'.
A similar streak immediately below it is called a 'sub-moustachial stripe',
while a still lower one is a
'malar stripe'.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
26. Chin: The part of a bird's exterior immediately
below the bill and above the throat.
From
Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
