Bird Word: Bar

• Bar: a band across the breast, tail or wing of a bird that is contrasting in colour or shading.

When trying to identify birds in the field I look for any special features that might distinguish that bird from another species. Bands or bars of colour can be very distinctive and can help ID one species from another. In the photo of the Rainbow Lorikeet below, the orange bar or band across the chest allows one to instantly identify this species. No other parrot looks just like this one.

For more in this series of articles check out the Glossary of Bird Words here.