| 100% | YELLOWHAMMER | 12 | State bird of (and a nickname for) Alabama |
| 59% | ORIOLE | 6 | State bird of Maryland, for which a baseball team was named |
| 55% | BELIEBER | 8 | Nickname for a fan of the singer of "Love Yourself" and "Sorry" |
| 52% | UAE | 3 | Count. with a Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing |
| 52% | DOC | 3 | Nickname for a physician (and homonym of 40-Across) |
| 50% | DEEP | 4 | & 8A Name for the states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina |
| 50% | TATA | 4 | Father, in Xhosa, and a nickname for 36-Across |
| 50% | CARDINAL | 8 | State bird of Indiana, Kentucky and more |
| 48% | THEBIGAPPLE | 11 | Nickname for New York City that was first popularized by John Fitz Gerald and was a part of an ad campaign: 3 wds. |
| 48% | CLEO | 4 | Nickname for a queen of Egypt |
| 47% | LOTTO | 5 | Nickname for a state-sponsored gambling game |
| 47% | KIWI | 4 | Nickname for a resident of New Zealand |
| 47% | CRANE | 5 | Center of a Venn diagram for "Birds" and "Construction equipment" |
| 47% | HOTLANTA | 8 | Nickname for the capital of the Peach State |
| 47% | WILDCHILD | 9 | Nickname for a free spirit; young and fearless |
| 47% | JOEY | 4 | Nickname for a namesake of Mary's husband |
| 47% | REDCOAT | 7 | Nickname for a British soldier of the 1700s |
| 47% | LAWNMAN | 7 | Nickname for a certain type of obsessive suburbanite? |
| 47% | HOTTIE | 6 | Nickname for a fan of Megan Thee Stallion |
| 47% | PARADISE | 8 | Bird of __ is a yellow and blue flower |
| 46% | SOCAL | 5 | Nickname for the lower portion of the Golden State |
| 46% | BROSETTES | 9 | Nickname for dedicated fans of Matt and Luke Goss |
| 46% | ABE | 3 | Nickname for the 16th President of the United States |
| 46% | OLDLUPINESTATE | 14 | Nickname for a division of America populated by wolves? |
| 46% | ANI | 3 | Nickname for a young Darth Vader (anagram of "nia") |
| 46% | EAGLE | 5 | Bird of prey similar to a falcon and hawk |
| 46% | MURDER | 6 | Infamous nickname for a flock of crows |
| 46% | STENCH | 6 | Smelly nickname for a group of skunks |
| 45% | OLDGLORY | 8 | Nickname for the flag of the United States of America |
| 45% | MAV | 3 | Nickname for any member of a Dallas professional basketball team |