At 07:29 AM 1/13/97 -0800, Mike Patterson wrote:

>You have still failed to eliminate the more likely 1W Swamp Sparrow or
>1W Chipping Sparrow.

For Swamp Sparrow the "moust", "submoust", and "malar" apparently refer to
the short
stripes extending downward from near the base of the bird's bill. This bird
had a
single pair of "whiskers" framing a white or very light gray throat. Also, the
Hartman Road sparrow has a very light bill, one of its most prominant
features. I
called it orange though others might call it deep yellow. It had a dusky
tip but
both upper and lower mandibles were predominantly light in color. The
Hartman Road
sparrow also lacks rusty wingbars and tail. I discount Swamp Sparrow mainly
because
the Hartman Road sparrow lacks the multiple moustache markings and the bill
is almost
all light in color (bright in fact).

For Chipping Sparrow, bill color, once again, was not a match since Chipping
Sparrows
have "pale brownish" bills. Other than that, the bird matched Mike
Patterson's field
mark list pretty well (though Mike listed crown color as "brown" and the
Hartman Road
sparrow had a rusty crown). I also have difficulties with ascribing
importance to superciliary color on this bird because there the color above
the eye (and the lores for that matter) were not distinct from the rest of
the face. The distinctive markings on the head were the rust stripes, one
on each side of the crown and the eyeline going from the posterior margin of
the eye to the back of the head.

I have probably worn this one sparrow out badly but thanks for the thoughts.
I have gained a tremendous appreciation for these little brown jobs (Now
someone go out there and tell me what it is, dammit).

Kelly McAllister