A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

d, that is used to observe

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

aids, they are now commonly found in parks and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

for the use of

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

ornithologists __NOTOC__ This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists. A * John Abbot – US * Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US * William Louis Abbott – US * Humayun Abdulali — India * Joseph ...

and other observers who do not want to disturb wildlife as it is being observed. A typical bird hide resembles a garden shed, with small openings, shutters, or windows built into at least one side to enable observation. However, because birds do not recognize humans as predatory threats unless the human is standing in the open, a bird blind can be little more than a large shed open on one side in which birders stand, and motor vehicles are effective blinds even with the windows open.

Variants

Types of bird hide include: * tower hides, which have multiple stories and allow observations over large areas. * bird blinds, which are screens similar to one wall of a typical hide, with or without a roof for shelter. * machans, covered platforms erected to observe birds and wildlife in high trees or on cliffs, particularly in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

where they were originally used by tiger-hunters. * portable hides, tent-like structures made of fabric arranged on a frame, often used by photographers. File:BirdhideCorsDyfi-01s.jpg, Bird hide in Cors Dyfi nature reserve File:BirdhideCorsDyfi-02s.jpg, Bird hide in Cors Dyfi nature reserve File:Birdwatching bird hide blind.jpg, Blind hide in Chiba,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

File:Camouflaged hide.jpg, Camouflaged hide in Kerse Castle,

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

File:Bird Hide, Saltram, Plymouth.jpg, Bird hide in

Saltram Saltram House is a grade I listed George II era house in Plympton, Devon, England. It was deemed by the architectural critic Nikolaus Pevsner to be "the most impressive country house in Devon". The house was designed by the architect Ro ...

Park,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

File:Bird Hides, Stert Point - geograph.org.uk - 3285466.jpg, Bird Hide, Stert point

References

External links

Birds Australia Information Sheet No.8
Birdwatching Ornithological equipment and methods {{Ornithology-stub