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Sparrow ID (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Grousemore
- Start date
Bit tatty looking isn't it. I'd very tentatively suggest Bachman's Sparrow.
Binocularface
You've all got one...............!
I think I'd agree with Andrew on this one (Bachman's Sparrow), though I am not sure if the breast streaking is right?-(Bare in mind I have no experience of this species!)
Regards
Tristan
Regards
Tristan
Jane Turner
Well-known member
I know its not... but it has the characteristics structurally of Chipping Sparrow..any other Spizellas it might be?????
Charles Harper
Régisseur
Chipping is about the only Spizella possibility down there-- others would be out of range (except Field Sparrow, which this does NOT look like). Bachman's would be a good guess and a nice tick. Can't really tell from the picture whether the breast is streaked or not. I tend to suggest Song Sparrow for anything I can't place elsewhere.
Grousemore
Senior Member
Edward woodwood
Member
the dark malar and apparent lack of/or only a weak moustachial would help eliminate a few species (incl. Song) if it is real but I'm not sure it is. Tail also looks wrong for Song -not rounded enough?
Several featues fit Bachman's though including head shape largish bill etc but head pattern is bolder than u would expect and not as streaky, though perhaps this is still okay. Wing looks good too with dark-chestnut-dark pattern.
Looks to me quite like an imm. Swamp Sparrow
A-ha...new pix!
has a yellow supra-loral spot - even more intriguing. Anyone know of anysparrows showing this other than Seaside and White throated?
Several featues fit Bachman's though including head shape largish bill etc but head pattern is bolder than u would expect and not as streaky, though perhaps this is still okay. Wing looks good too with dark-chestnut-dark pattern.
Looks to me quite like an imm. Swamp Sparrow
A-ha...new pix!
has a yellow supra-loral spot - even more intriguing. Anyone know of anysparrows showing this other than Seaside and White throated?
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Michael Frankis
conehead
If it's any help, it's perched in a pine, and Bachman's is cited as a pinewood species. Sibley shows a yellowish supra-loral spot for Bachman's, too.
Michael
Michael
Edward woodwood
Member
Cheers M.
resourceful and speedy as ever
anyone out there seen a Bachman's in the field?
resourceful and speedy as ever
anyone out there seen a Bachman's in the field?
Grousemore
Senior Member
I've just located a Bird List for the place(Three Lakes WMA)and Bachman's breeds on the site;the only others recorded there are Savannah(saw lots of those)Grasshopper,Swamp and White-crowned.
Although I didn't see the breast,the long tail was distinctive in the field,Michael was right that it was in a Pine and the pics show a flat,not rounded head.
Reckon I'll settle for 'probable' Bachman's,thanks all for the help.
Although I didn't see the breast,the long tail was distinctive in the field,Michael was right that it was in a Pine and the pics show a flat,not rounded head.
Reckon I'll settle for 'probable' Bachman's,thanks all for the help.
Another Bachman's feature is the quite greyish tail (not rufus as in e.g. Song, Swamp etc.).
Katy Penland
Well-known member
The first photo made me think Bachman's. Also the predominance of chestnut rather than gray leans me toward Bachman's, especially the "rufous-tinged tertials" which Sibley says is diagnostic. The 2nd photo posted shows this rufous much better.
Both spp are good for pine/conifer habitat.
The problem with chipping is that it's not that streaky on the back of the neck and upper back; an adult in winter plumage would be gray and the face more clearly marked. Having said that, maybe there's a regional variation in chipping (west vs. east). I've had squillions of chipping in the yard here in NE Arizona, and none of them have been this blandly marked, in any plumage or at any age, although some do show buffy-to-yellowish lores as does this one. All chipping also have distinct, if variable, buffy to white wingbars, which this bird doesn't have.
I'd vote for Bachman's, with the caveat that I'm not very knowledgable of eastern US birds.
Both spp are good for pine/conifer habitat.
The problem with chipping is that it's not that streaky on the back of the neck and upper back; an adult in winter plumage would be gray and the face more clearly marked. Having said that, maybe there's a regional variation in chipping (west vs. east). I've had squillions of chipping in the yard here in NE Arizona, and none of them have been this blandly marked, in any plumage or at any age, although some do show buffy-to-yellowish lores as does this one. All chipping also have distinct, if variable, buffy to white wingbars, which this bird doesn't have.
I'd vote for Bachman's, with the caveat that I'm not very knowledgable of eastern US birds.
Edward woodwood
Member
Pine-woods Sparrow is an alternative name for Bachman's
although the crown stripes are usually more obvioulsy streaky than the bird in the pic, Byers et al. in Buntings and Sparrows states that a bolder crown stripe is not uncommon.
although the crown stripes are usually more obvioulsy streaky than the bird in the pic, Byers et al. in Buntings and Sparrows states that a bolder crown stripe is not uncommon.
Grousemore
Senior Member
Michael Frankis
conehead
That's a rounded tail it has there - the outer feathers distinctly shorter than the central ones
Michael
Michael
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