So, you just saw a bird. Somewhere in between binge-watching Tiger King, obsessively checking social media and the news, and battling bouts of existential dread, you found some time to stare out the window. And lo and behold, there it was: a bird. Trouble is, you have no idea what kind of bird it is. How do you figure that out? Your first instinct is to snap a picture with your phone, but you quickly learn one of the great truths of bird photography: It can be super hard. You manage only a couple shots of a brownish blur before a shaking, empty branch is all that’s left. Next up: Google. But nothing you search—brown bird; medium brown bird; medium brown bird beautiful—turns up the one you saw. It appears you’ve hit a dead end. Then, suddenly, you remember: Didn’t your friend from college used to go birdwatching? You start tapping out a text message but quickly realize you aren’t giving the recipient a lot to work with. There are, after all, quite a few...