Subject: RE: Try again: Newbie with Sparrow question-Backyarding
Date: Oct 16 17:44:49 1997
From: Christopher Hill - cehill at u.washington.edu




>
> << Subject: Newbie with a sparrow question-Backyarding
>
> This may be easy for most- well, here it goes anyways
> How in the world can you tell the difference between
> Fox Sparrows
> Lincoln Sparrows
> Song Sparrows
>
>

Here are the things that jump out at me when I get a quick glimpse of one
of those three sparrows:

Song sparrow is the default. I suppose I know them so well I can't
describe very well how I recognize them. Streaked face, rusty sides.
I'll describe how the other two differ from song sparrows:

Fox sparrow: plain face (cheek does not look conspicuously streaked as a
song sparrow would), two tone bill (top mandible dark, lower light).
Coarsest breast streaking of the three, often breaking up into chevrons
along the sides.

Lincoln's Sparrow: fine crisp streaking confined to the upper breast, with
a buffy wash across the upper breast (song sparrows have coarser streaks,
and the darkest "wash" on a song sparrow is back along the flanks, not on
the breast). Lincoln's face pattern is quite similar to a song sparrow's,
but look for the conspicously buffy malar stripe and more conspicous eye
ring. Lincoln's seem to like to go around with their crest up.

Hope that helps.

Chris Hill
Everett, WA
cehill at u.washington.edu