To identify the birds that you spot, you will need to be able to see them clearly. This post will help you to understand the differences between binoculars so that you can buy the best for you.

There are not many pieces of equipment you need to begin birdwatching, but one of the most essential is a pair of binoculars. A good set of optics will bring those needed details into view so that you can identify birds by their field marks.

There are several features you’ll want to look for in a pair - whether you buy them new or used. My first three pairs of binoculars were from garage sales ( I was a high school student at that time). I still have one of those in my sunroom today for backyard viewing (the porro-prism binoculars below).

How to Identify Birds: Two Types of Binoculars

The binoculars you’ll be looking for come in two styles : the porro-prism and the roof prism (see pictures below). The difference is in how the binoculars are made to transfer the light entering the objective lenses (the lenses furthest from your eyes) to the ocular lenses ( the lenses in the eyepieces you look through).

The porro-prism style is the typical binocular you have seen in movies and most likely have lying around your house. They are identified by having the objective lens being much larger than the eyepiece. They tend to be less expensive (hence, more common) because of how they are produced.

Roof-prism binoculars are identified easily because the size of the objective lenses and the ocular lenses is very similar, making these look like two tubes attached together. This type is smaller and may be easier to hold, but tend to be more expensive.

How to Identify Birds: Magnification Power of Binoculars

Binoculars come in a number of magnifications. You will see ads for really cool binoculars - for example, 8-24x zoom or 10-30x zoom. These will look enticing because of how they advertise. However, this is one of those cases where larger magnification is not always the best.

The lowest magnification you will want to seek out will be 7x. That is, an object will appear to look like it is only 1/7 the distance away. This power will give you a good view of birds but a large enough field of view (the distance across you are seeing in one view) so that you do not have to be precise in your aim.

There are also 8x and 10x binoculars. If you have a steady set of hands or have used binoculars before, you may also want to check these out, too. If you have not used binoculars before, stick with the 7x for now.

I strongly suggest that you do not go over 10x magnification as you will have a hard time holding any binocular steady for a period of time, let alone handling windy conditions. You would be surprised how a little wind will make you move. Back to those zoom binoculars - they are impractical above the 10x range and would need a tripod mount to be truly functional. Tripods are great for spotting scopes (a future blog post) but you want the speed of spotting birds using binoculars right now.

Another factor to be aware of is the ratio between magnification and objective lens size. When I began birding, I read that you wanted to have a ratio of objective lens to magnification power to be 5 to 1 or greater. This means that if you have 7x binoculars, the objective lens should be 35mm or more or a 7 x 35 binoculars. Likewise, you will want a minimum of 8 x 40 or 10 x 50. The larger opening allows sufficient light to enter the lenses so the image you see is still bright enough to see details. This 5:1 ration is for porro-prism binoculars. For roof-prism, it will be around 4:1.

How to Identify Birds: A Binocular’s Field of View

Even when pairs of binoculars are of equal magnification, what you see when you look through them can still be different. This is due to that pair’s field of view. The field of view is how wide of an area you are actually viewing at a given distance. So, the field of view is typically written as [variable] feet at 1000 yards. For example in the picture with 8x roof-prism binoculars the field of view is 315 ft at 1000 yards. When deciding on a pair of binoculars, compare the field of view for each and realize that with a smaller field of view you will be scanning and searching a smaller area in one view.

How to Identify Birds: How to Adjust your Binoculars

Once you have a set of binoculars, some minor adjustments need to be made so that they are ready for you to use. Please view the video below, since it will be easier to show you than to tell you how to do this.

Next Step: Obtain a pair of binoculars

You can get binoculars from sporting goods stores, hunting and camping supply stores and even find some gently used ones at garage sales. I have also selected some nice binoculars that I would recommend to start you off at each magnification level at several ranges in price. I have only selected reliable brands at reasonable prices for the beginner birdwatcher who may not want to invest a lot of money at this point.

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Click on the image of the binocular to view details of each at Amazon.

Celestron 7 x 35 - Porro-prism