The lookalike pairs
These are the confusions that matter, because in most states each pair carries different size limits, seasons or daily bags. Every one is settled by a single check that takes seconds.
Wedge-shaped tail, much heavier bill, shaggy throat feathers, soars regularly, and croaks rather than caws.
Far smaller, iridescent, yellow-eyed, with a long keeled tail.
Much smaller, bright blue above, and it perches to hunt rather than running on the ground.
Orange breast but a grey back, yellow bill, and it feeds on the ground.
Larger, grey, crested, with a black forehead and no bib.
Much smaller, no crest, orange breast, and it perches in the open rather than moving through cover.
Streaked below with a conical bill and a tail held down.
Grey with a crest but no mask, no yellow, and a thicker bill.
Smaller, short conical bill, dark eye, and a brown head on the male.
Soars with wings in a shallow V and rocks side to side; a raven soars flat and steady.
Larger, with a black-and-white barred back rather than a white stripe, and a red nape.
The songs are confused constantly. The chickadee's 'fee-bee' is clear and whistled; the phoebe's is buzzy and rough.
Much longer keel-shaped tail, pale yellow eye, and a heavier bill.
Shorter conical bill, brown head on the male, and no spotting.
Heavily streaked below with a central breast spot, and a face patterned in brown and grey. Female house sparrows are plain below.
Male house finch is red on the head and chest, not black-bibbed; female is streaked below.
No chest bands, teeters constantly, and it walks rather than running in bursts.
Far smaller, no crest, red confined to head and chest over a streaky brown body.
Also feeds on lawns, but plain orange below with no spots, bib or white rump.
Brown, spotted below, with a black bib and it feeds on the ground.
Much slimmer, with short rounded wings and a long banded tail. Hunts through cover rather than soaring.
Larger, iridescent, with a long keel-shaped tail and a pale yellow eye.
For the female: song sparrow is far smaller with a short conical bill and a central breast spot.
Much larger and blue, though a distant grey-looking jay in poor light causes this every winter.
Soars on flat wings with a white head and tail on adults, and a much heavier body.