OK, this Chipping Sparrow consensus has been bothering me. My problem is that I'm overrun with Chipping Sparrows. Front yard, back yard, they are everywhere, among other places in my yard, they even nest in the white cedar six feet from this keyboard, that I see when I look out the window. I've never once seen a juvenile that looks like the photos. Yes, I see the plumage resemblance. But the jizz is dead wrong, not to mention the structure, and most important of all, the bill.
I didn't want to object until I had an alternative candidate, and now I do: juvenile Dicksissel. Now, the bill is just right, and so is the jizz. My problem is that while I have seen adults, I've never seen a juvenile in person, so I'm having to go off of several less than satisfactory field guides and photos. Here is a photo, that helps, but doesn't solve everything, as the front of the bird is washed out:
http://www.capebretonbirds.ca/dickcissel8m.jpg
Note the exact match on the pinkish bill, as well as the pinkish legs that juvie Dicksissels have. What the photo doesn't show (due to lighting), is the fine streaks on the breast. A juvenile female can have no yellow in the eyebrow, but can have some chestnut in the crown that has no median stripe.
Unfortunately, this is an adult male Dickcissel with different color plumage, bill and feet color, but look at the position and the overall structure:
http://www.birddigiscoping.com/dickcissel3.jpg
Now compare to a typical genuine juvenile Chipping sparrow at the bottom right of this Cornell page, as well as the bill and structure of either of the adult photos:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Chipping_Sparrow.html
It is a theory, I can't get definitive, but I am more comfortable with juvenile Dickcissel than juvenile Chipping Sparrow, and that is my vote.