Hi all,

When I posted my "chipping sparrow" sighting, I did not realize it was
such an unusual winter bird for us. I am quite sure it wasn't an
immature white-crowned sparrow, but I'd want a second pair of eyes to
see it before staking my reputation that it isn't a tree sparrow.

I based my ID on the full rufous cap, with a skinny strip down the
center. I've seen plenty of immature white crowned sparrows, and this
one struck me as not as chubby as a white crowned, and instead of
slightly scruffy, fat reddish stripes on its head, it had a crisp
reddish-brown cap with a thin,even stripe down the center. White crowned
sparrows don't really have a cap, this fellow did. The beak wasn't as
heavy, either. The bird's breast did not have any distinct central
spot, and was sort of a mottled gray/tan with an hint of immature-bird
faded streaking. I'm more of an overall impression birder, though, and
this bird just wasn't a white crowned sparrow; it had a nice bright
crisp cap, its color was slightly wrong, and it was just not as round.

If I'd known this was unusual, I would have taken notes and checked a
field guide sooner. I was about ten feet away, and got a nice good
head-on look through my binoculars before it flew.

I hope someone else sees it! It flew off into the grassy field
northwest of the UBNA sign, south of the vegetable garden.

Abby Larson
Seattle