Silhouette 🦅
Why silhouette ID is the most important birding skill
Most real-world bird sightings happen in conditions where colour is washed out — dawn, dusk, against bright sky, deep in cover. The shape, posture, and proportions of a bird are what experienced birders use to identify a species before colour ever comes into play. Silhouette games are the fastest way to train this instinct.
Every silhouette in our daily puzzle is drawn from the 95 most common UK species — the ones you have a realistic chance of actually seeing on your local patch. Legendary and very rare species are excluded because they're unfair from shape alone (and most aren't found on a typical UK walk anyway).
How to play
- The mystery bird's photo is shown as a dark silhouette — outline only, no colour or pattern visible.
- Start typing a species name in the guess box — autocomplete shows matching UK birds.
- Each guess is colour-coded: green if you got the rarity tier right, neutral if not.
- After 3 wrong guesses: the rarity tier is revealed (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic).
- After 5 wrong guesses: the habitat is revealed.
- Solve in 1 = 15 bonus points; in 2 = 12; in 3 = 10; in 4 = 7; in 5 = 5; in 6 = 3.
Tips for solving
- Look at the proportions. Long tail vs short tail; bulky body vs slim; bill length relative to head.
- Posture tells you the family. Wagtails are horizontal, finches are upright, herons are statuesque.
- Wing shape. Pointed = falcon/swift. Rounded = corvid/hawk. Long and narrow = gull/seabird.
- Use the rarity hint wisely. Once you know it's a Common species, you can rule out ~250 of the 302 UK birds.
FAQ
Is Silhouette free?
Yes, no signup needed. Sign in to save streaks and earn the Silhouette solver badge.
Do silhouettes get easier as I guess?
Yes — hints (rarity, habitat) unlock at attempts 3 and 5. The silhouette itself stays equally dark until you finish.
How is the daily bird picked?
Deterministically — same bird for everyone on the same day, drawn from a pool of 95 reliably-photographed common UK species.
What if I can't load the photo?
If today's image fails, the game automatically skips to the next bird in the pool and remembers the broken one for future puzzles.