As you may have already guessed, the hip, elite and seriously involved in identifying and collecting listings. Identifying a bird correctly isn't easy. Taxonomy is simply categorizing the bird in related groups. It's done with Latin names. The groups start with the largest group to the smallest individual.
Birders seem to only be concerned with the last three.
Don't worry, it's all there in the field guide. Ah yes, the field guide, a book of color pictures, names all in order and you'd think that would make it easy. There is your bird sitting on the telephone wire patiently waiting while you look it up, correctly identify it and record it in your notebook. You have the binoculars focused in on it, but it just doesn't look like the illustration. Your problem could be another favorite topic of a true Birdwatcher, Molting and Plumage.