Sparrow, Chicago (1 Viewer)

[MKinHK]

I photographed this bird, which I believe is a juvenile Song Sparrow, on the Riverside Walk in Chicago on Wednesday.

I'd welcome any input that could help to confirm, or point me in the right direction.

Many thanks
Mike

 

[Gretchen]

Your sparrow looks cold! (like it is today in south China!) and can't see his tail so well. I wonder if it might be a juvenile chipping sparrow (see here for one pic), but I'm not very familiar with young song sparrows, so I just add it in as just a possibility.

 

[rkj]

I can probably be convinced otherwise, but it looks to me more like a Lincoln's Sparrow.

 

[RJP]

I'm inclined to agree with rkj on Lincoln's. Dark narrow eye line, but only behind the eye, doesn't match with either Song or Chipping. Streaking underneath is fine, and it appears to have some streaking on the throat, which Songs generally do not have. Not as buffy underneath as most Lincoln's, however.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

I'd agree with Lincoln's, too. I think the reason the breast doesn't look the right color is a photographic effect, and the buffy malar stripe looks good for it, too.

 

[steveMc]

My first thought was juvenile Swamp Sparrow. They can be very hard to tell from juvenile Lincoln's for me though. Do you have any other pics showing the top of the head?

 

[Peter C.]

I see an unstreaked throat (mostly) which, if correct, would eliminate Lincoln's. Looks fine for a juvenile Song, they have much thinner breast streaking and moustacial lines than the adults.


Edit: Don't think the wing coverts are rufous enough, nor the underparts buffy enough, for a young Swamp.

 

[MKinHK]

Many thanks for the feedback. I'm somewhat reassured that this appears not to be too straightforward a bird.

Here's another pic, which shows the breast (with a hint of a buff breast band) and a chestnut crown with fine dark streaks.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Peter C.]

That's a helpful pic. Deffo not a Lincoln's, then.

 

[Tiraya]

I'm happy with Lincoln's on this bird honestly, though at first it seemed a bit "odd".

The second pic is pretty much trademark Lincoln's with narrow streaks, face pattern, etc.

 

[howiewu]

I cast my inexpert vote for Lincoln's as well.

 

[Larry Lade]

I will throw in a vote for Swamp Sparrow.

 

[Tiraya]

I will throw in a vote for Swamp Sparrow.

We should at least get some good rufous in the wings and pale lower mandible on a swamp I think. The streaking seems a bit too much even for a young bird of that species.

The very wide shape of this bird is very swamp like though, hence my original hesitation on Lincoln's.

 

[A2GG]

I'll go with Lincoln's here (my initial impression).

from Cornell online:

"Adult Lincoln's Sparrow has a crisp, not blurred, streaking on breast and flanks, is grayer on the back, and has a distinct thin eyering. Juvenile Lincoln's Sparrow closely resembles juvenile Swamp Sparrow with its dark streaking on a buffy chest, but crown of Lincoln's is usually streaked, while that of Swamp Sparrow is solid brown or black."

In the second pic it looks like the crown has streaks in it.

 

[Larry Lade]

I think the eye markings around the auriculars are darker on the Swamp than on the Lincoln's and also the yellowish on breast is more subdued on the Swamp than on the brighter Lincoln's. I get the "jizz" of a Swampy.

 

[Larry Lade]

First year birds of both Lincoln's and Swamp Sparrows have streaked crowns, per. "Sparrows and Buntings", A Guide to the Sparrows and Buntings of North American and the World, by Byers, Curson & Olsson

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

That second picture is much more swamp-like. I switch my vote to swamp.

 

[A2GG]

We may never know the answer if this is a juvenile.
I stumbled upon this article on ebird which contains a link
to the paper: http://ebird.org/content/vt/news/little-brown-birds-of-confusion/

It's long, but here's the summary at the bottom of the paper:

Because of continuous variation in plumage characters, identification
of juvenile Lincoln's and Swamp sparrows is impossible on the basis of
qualitative plumage differences. In attempting to discriminate between
the species, banders should first carefully examine the breast and sides
for the presence of incoming basic feathers. Once erupted 1-2 mm from
the sheath, these clearly differentiate lincolnii from georgiana. For birds
not advanced to this stage of the prebasic molt, a virtually unambiguous
separation is achieved using a wing formula criterion, i.e., relative lengths
of the 9th and 4th primaries. In my samples, all Lincoln's Sparrows had
the 9th primary longer than the 4th, while 99% of Swamp Sparrows had
the 9th primary shorter than the 4th. Color of the upper mandible lining
(roof of the mouth) is a reliable character only at its two extremes, yellow
(georgiana) and gray (lincolnii). Intermediate birds, i.e., those with whitish
mouth color, should be identified only on the basis of wing formula.
Banders should use both wing formula and mouth color in attempting
to identify juveniles of either species. Plumage characters should be used
only as corroborative evidence. Banders who handle juveniles of both
species should be aware that geographic variation may affect the reliability
of these criteria.

 

[Jim M.]

This is an adult Lincoln's Sparrow showing the typical fine breast streaking, buffy eyering, buffy malar with black border, and rufous, olive, and buffy tones typical of the species. Bill appears a bit more robust than typical, and the eyering slightly worn, which may be throwing some off. But otherwise appears to be classic Lincoln's.

 

[Tero]

A vote for Lincoln's from Lincoln.