This coloring page is a little different! As a birder, if I see a bird that I haven’t identified before, it’s much easier for me to record what I saw in pictures than words. This tool allows you to skip past the sketching portion (which may be useful for those of you who don’t feel you have much in the way of drawing skills) and just want to record the colors of the bird you saw. Maybe you only caught a quick glimpse as the bird disappeared into the underbrush, or it was far enough away that you could only get basic blocks of color. Even if what you saw was a waterfowl or raptor instead of a songbird, this will allow you to quickly jot down your initial impressions of the bird’s colors and pattern.

You are welcome to make a few copies and take them out into the field with you, or at least keep them handy any place you might see a bird you haven’t been able to identify before, and might not recognize immediately. You might even consider keeping a few in your car. You can take markers, colored pencils or crayons with you to record the pattern of colors you see on the bird, or if you don’t have these you can still use a pen or pencil to make notes and sketches of these field marks. If you don’t have the coloring pages with you, try to get the field marks recorded as soon as you get home and can print one off. 

While I used generic songbirds for the models here, you can use this resource to color in the field marks of any species you see; it’s just a way to be able to color in things like “white chest with brown spots” or “green head with white ring around neck”. Coloring outside the lines is fine, too, especially if you have a bird with a crest or other ornamentation that doesn’t fit the models here. 

I hope you find this useful! As noted on the bottom of the page, I am fine with you making as many copies as you like for personal use. If you want to use it beyond that, please contact me and we’ll make arrangements.