Ageing birds
18 Feb 2011
The high quality images being added to the BirdTrack flickr pool make it possible to determine the age of some of the birds pictured. This male Brambling, for example, can be aged as a 1st-winter (hatched last year) by its pointed tail feathers (1), its frayed, narrow-fringed tertials (2) and the presence of 1 old greater covert (3). Compare this bird with an adult male. For a full introduction to ageing birds, read the recent BirdGuides article.
Share this page