Two birds are in the above picture. The bird in the top right corner seems to have
a central breast spot,
but that is not as obvious in the picture below.
I saw these sparrows near the river today in some brush. They were quite small and hopped about in the low branches and ground. I have pored over my bird guides and the internet and cannot find a good match. I thought I had a Song Sparrow in the previous post, but these birds were smaller and had more distinct markings.
I vote song sparrow on this one. I feel like I have to relearn sparrows every spring! I got a book last year by Bill Thompson III called "Identify Yourself" that helped me get comfy id'ing a few sparrows.
ReplyDeleteI'd call them both song sparrows, but that's my *default* sparrow ID!
ReplyDeleteBefore I even saw the expert opinions, I call them song sparrows (with the help of my field guide). You are right, sparrows are very difficult!
ReplyDeleteI agree... I'd go with Song Sparrow as well, but for goodness sakes, don't trust me...lol... LBJ's... yep, that's what they are!
ReplyDeleteSong sparrows are a good sparrow to Really Learn! Once you get them down, then the others start to get easier!
ReplyDeleteLynne- I really have to get a better guide. Mine has one photograph per bird and it may be front or back or side, but never all views.
ReplyDeleteLaura- Song sparrow is a very pleasant default!
Mary- You are the fastest bird-learner on the continent. You just got your guide book a few months ago if I remember correctly.
Jayne- LBJ's covers it nicely. I think your opinion is right.
Mon@rch- All I have seen this whole winter are the zillions of HOSPs that have been at my feeders. Now I have a few pics of the Song Sparrow that I will study diligently :-) For some reason I thought they should have a crested head.
I kept trying to turn this streaked little fellow into a Fox Sparrow - it didn't work :0)
ReplyDeleteSong sparrows. Don't feel bad about ID confusion - sparrows can be very difficult. When we're banding, we use primary feather measurements to help ID.
ReplyDeleteCathy- thanks for your efforts! I was hoping for a Fox Sparrow too. Maybe next time.;-)
ReplyDeleteLauraO- I find the birds can look different depending on the light. Thanks for the encouragement!