Tweeters,

I think the problem with many of us (and I include myself in this) is that
when we see something unusual we rarely take notes while we are looking at
the bird. It is so easy to search through the field guide to match what we
are seeing with something in the book that we might not look as closely at
the bird as we should. Many birders also could use a course in bird
anatomy. Knowing what to look for helps us to describe what we saw. Too
many times I have tried to remember a certain characteristic of an
unidentified bird I saw and I realize that I didn't even notice something as
important as the shape of the bill or the streaking on the back, etc. It is
hard to write a proper description of a bird if we don't have all the facts.