Basic Flowchart to Identify Common Birds! (And How to Make One)

I made a flowchart that can identify the 7 most common birds in the United States, and will show you how to as well.

You should choose a subject that has lots of variance in possibilities (like bird species).

Once you've chosen it, find some common differences between your options. One I chose for birds was the color of the birds face. Just asking if the face of the bird was black cut out almost half of possibilities, which speeds up the identifying process. Once you have a set of common differences, make sure to record the specific items value based on the question, for use in the flowchart. I used www.allaboutbirds.org to find characteristics of my birds, and https://www.whatbirdsareinmybackyard.com to find the most common birds in the US.

You can find a free flowchart maker online easily. Once you have yours, create your first node. You should choose the identifying characteristic that lowers answer possibilities the most. Then drag an arrow to the left and right from different sides of the box. Label one "yes" and one "no."

Once you have separated your item group into around half, find characteristics among that group that lower possible items even more. In my flowchart, after asking if the birds face was black, 2 of the birds left on that side had a black bill, and 2 didn't. This made for a good question, because it reduced possible answers in the best possible way.

After completing this process until all birds are identified, you should have no loose ends in your chart, and every set of yes / no answers should lead to a different item.

After you have your base list fully mapped out, you can continue adding items to the chart by simply looking at their characteristics and following the nodes. Once you reach an item that you know your item isn't, find a difference between them and add it as a question to where the first item was originally. You can continue doing this for as long as you want, although it could lead to a very long and confusing chart. If that happens, you may want to redo the chart with a larger base set and better questions, which should help to reduce clutter.