"Identify" would be figuring out what something is. Such as....If you see something in the distance and you don't know what it is, you get closer to identify it. To "distinguish", you would tell one thing apart from another. Such as...You have two apples. One has a black mark on it. This mark is a distinguishing feature.

Identify means 1.Recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something "She identified the man on the 'wanted' poster" 2.Give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic proper "The almanac identifies the auspicious months" 3.Consider (oneself) as similar to somebody else "He identified with the refugees" 4.Consider to be equal or the same "He identified his brother as one of the fugitives" While Distinguish refers to. 1.Mark as different "We distinguish several kinds of maple" 2.Be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense "His modesty distinguishes him from his peers" cowboy...