This is Bird Note. At first glance, many of North America's sparrows look pretty much the same,

like small, drab-colored songbirds hanging out on the ground. But these little brown jobs can be a lot of

fun to identify if you know what to look for.

Do you notice any interesting markings on its face? Maybe it has a bright white ring around its

eye, like this field sparrow. Or maybe the bird has a solid black streak across its face, called an eyeline, like this chipping sparrow.

Chipping sparrows also have a reddish-brown cap or crown.

You may even spy sparrows with crown stripes, like white-throated sparrows.

What about the sparrows' breast feathers?

Field sparrows, chipping sparrows, and white-throated sparrows all have plain-colored breasts.

But many other species show a distinctive streaking pattern like this song sparrow.

In fact, figuring out if your sparrow is either streaky or not streaky is a great way to narrow down your

species ID. Next time you spot a little brown job,

see if you can make out some of its markings

to help put a name to your friend in the sky.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.