After decades of birdwatching from my kitchen window, I can tell you that even the most eagle-eyed backyard birder can misidentify avian visitors. The speed at which birds fly between feeders would challenge even the best wildlife professionals. Let's figure out these confusing backyard doppelgangers that might be tricking you.
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Check PriceHouse Finch vs. Purple Finch
Backyard birders have been tricked by these two red-headed finches for years. Picture the House Finch as a red beret and scarf. The red coloring mainly stays on the head and breast, while the rest is streaky brown. The Purple Finch on the other hand looks like it got into a raspberry smoothie. The reddish color is splattered all over its back and is more evenly distributed. House Finches are the slender fashionistas of finches while Purple Finches have a stocky build and a markedly peaked head that makes them look ever so slightly surprised.
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Downy vs. Hairy Woodpecker
I have been observing birds since the 1960s and these woodpecker twins have been making me do double-takes the whole time. Look at the size difference between the two. Hairy Woodpeckers are about the size of robins and downy woodpeckers are smaller, they are about the size of a sparrow, with a woodpecker costume. One of the big differences between the species is their bill size. Downy woodpeckers have a short, stubby bill that is about half of their head and looks like a little chisel. Hairy woodpeckers have big, heavy duty bills that are the same length as the heads. In other words, a downy woodpecker's bill looks like a cocktail toothpick while a hairy woodpecker's bill looks like a carpentry nail.
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Comparison Between Cooper's Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks
These hawk impersonators are the ultimate backyard mystery birds. Coopers Hawks are the larger relatives and have a distinct style—rocking a dark cap in stark contrast with a lighter neck, in addition to a rounded tail that seems like it has been cut by a stylist. Sharpies have that \"no neck\" look with the head seemingly melting into the shoulders, and their tails are cut off rather squarely as if done with scissors. These aerial predators will come to your yard in search of a bird buffet, but of the two, Coopers are more likely to crash your feeder party and dine more boldly than Sharpies.
Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees
Most likely, you're only observing one type of chickadee unless you happen to live in the narrow range where the territories of these species overlap (most likely the mid-Atlantic states). Black-capped Chickadees have large white cheek patches and look shaggy because of a much larger black bib which resembles a puffy winter scarf. In contrast, Carolina Chickadees are more streamlined with smaller white cheek patches, a smaller bib, and less white in their wing. They even have distinctive calls, with Black-capped having a more relaxed and melodic “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” and Carolina being more high-pitched and sounding more urgent.
Difference Between Song Sparrow and House Sparrow
The Song Sparrow is a native bird of the United States. Its beautiful brown streaks and bold markings on the chest look like a microphone, ready to sing. The House Sparrow entered the United States in the 1850s. Males have a tan chest that conceals them in an urban setting because females have plain light brown feathers. The Song Sparrow has a longer tail and prefers natural habitats while the House Sparrow thrives in the city and loves sitting on the patio at a Starbucks.
Tufted Titmouse and Dark-eyed Junco Comparison
Although these birds have similar gray coloring, they are about as different from each other as a punk rocker is from a corporate executive. Punk rocker Tilford Titmouse is a punk with spiky head feathers and is bold faced with a surprising orange flank, as compared to the executive, Dark-eyed Junco which is also rounded and has a sharp white belly and dressed in a sleek charcoal gray suit. Business cards, white outer tail feathers, are displayed when they fly. Juncos prefer ground level networking and Titmice, being social climbers, are more than happy to hang around feeders and branches.
Eastern vs. Western Bluebird
Even though these stunning blue birds are part of the same family, they have unique styles. Eastern Bluebirds are like the classic models. Their blue feathers are uniform from the head to the tail, and they have a warm rusty-orange breast. Rather than keeping warm colors to just the breast, Western Bluebirds extend that rusty color to the shoulders and back area like a fashionable shrug. If you ever need help identifying these birds, pay attention to your geography. Eastern Bluebirds are found east of the Rockies and Western Bluebirds are found west of the Rockies, but in certain overlapping places you can find rusty back patches!
