Sparrows of Los Alamos County

Because I can never tell the dang sparrows apart, and in the bird books I have to spend too much time sifting through pages of sparrows that never come near here.

The images aren't by me (mostly); each image links to the original source.

Jump to sparrows with streaked breasts.

Solid breasts

White-crowned sparrows have several very different variants

• White-crowned sparrow adults are easy. The stripes may be brown instead of black, in younger birds. (Photo: Steve Ryan)
• The dark-lored variant is the same except that the lores, between the eye and the back of the bill, are dark. In New Mexico, if a white-crowned sparrow isn't a dark lored, it's a Gambel's; neither of these variants is mentioned at all in Sibley, but they're the variants you need to know on eBird. (Photo: Alan Schmierer)
• Young white-crowned sparrows have a crown stripe that's brown instead of black. The eye stripe may be black or brown, and may be thick or thin. Yellow foreheads are fairly common, and may be seen on adults too, which makes it easy to confuse them with golden-crowned sparrow (but we don't get golden-crowned in Los Alamos). Pink or orange bill in NM (yellow in California). Pale brown rump. (Photo: Lip Kee)

Spizella sparrows

• Chipping sparrow, summer. The brown head and black eye stripe might make it easy to confuse with a white-crowned, but white-crowned will always have a light crown stripe, not a solid brown crown. (Photo: Mdf)
• Chipping sparrow, fall/winter. Note dark lores (line in front of eye) which distinguishes it from 1st winter chipping sparrow or clay-colored sparrow. Greyish rump. (Photo: Jamie Chavez)
• Clay-colored sparrow. Note pale lores, dark 'mustache' around white stripe at side of thoat, clean grey nape. Brownish rump. (Photo: Francesco Veronesi)
• Brewer's sparrow. Two good field marks: no back line through the eye, and small, delicate bill. (Photo: www.naturespicsonline.com)

Less common

• Rufous-crowned sparrow (Photo: J. Maughn)
• White-throated sparrow (Photo: Cephas)
• Lark sparrow (Photo: Kathy & sam)

House sparrow

• House sparrow, male (Photo: Adamo)
• House sparrow, female (Photo: David Friel)

Streaked breasts

Savannah and Vesper

• Savannah sparrow. Note yellow lores (but they aren't always there). (Photo: Mdf)
• Vesper sparrow. Note white eye-ring and white outer tail-feathers. (Photo: Allen Gathman)

Melispiza sparrows

• Song sparrow. Fairly coarse streaks on breast converge in central spot. Color varies quite a bit, but look for rufous on tail. (Photo: Jerry McFarland)
• Lincoln's sparrow. Note buffy breast with fine dark streaks (Photo: Dave Inman)
• Lincoln's sparrow. Greyish tail, where song sparrow's tail should be rufous. (Photo: John Breitsch)

Not sparrows, but easily confused with them. See Mouser's finch ID page for how to ID them by bill shape.

• House finch female. Note how the upper bill curves down. (Photo: John Benson)
• Cassin's finch female, with straight upper bill. (Photo: Akkana Peck)
• Pine siskin. Smaller than most sparrows, and note the slimmer bill. The female has less yellow than this male. (Photo: Cephas)

Another useful sparrow page: Audubon Bird Guide: sparrow, Rocky Mountains.

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