BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silverwolf" data-source="post: 3441549" data-attributes="member: 84264">These can be tricky species and they don't commonly co-occur in many regions, so few people are confident with them. Song sparrow is generally quickly identified because it is broader in shape, especially around the head and neck. It is also bigger than Lincoln's sparrow and the calls are very different, although that doesn't show in a photo. When I see Lincoln's it has a general gist that is more similar to a Savannah sparrow.  I very rarely see Lincoln's without its crest raised, while song always has a flat domed head.In terms of pattern the best difference is in the underparts. When you view both species from the front they are strikingly different birds. Lincoln's sparrow has a buffy chest and neat, narrow streaking. Song sparrow is (usually, but not always) paler on the underparts and the streaking is bold or smudgy. But beware the flank markings are similar in both, so you can't always tell this from a side view of the bird. Note this feature only works for adults. Juveniles are very similar, both showing nearly identical patterning, and I expect calls and shape (and possibly behaviour) are the only reliable ways to separate them.The face pattern is less useful but Lincoln's sparrow have a definite look to them that song sparrows don't. For instance the eye stripe is narrow in Lincoln's but suddenly expands around the ear. In song sparrow the eye stripe is consistent in width and wider overall. The narrower eye stripe on Lincoln's makes the grey "eyebrow" appear much wider. This is again hard to judge on juveniles but obvious on adults. A large black triangle between the malar and throat is almost always in support of song sparrow.These points are why I have no issues calling both the first and third mystery birds song sparrow.edit: California song sparrows visually are very much like song sparrows in the majority of its range. Black streaks, pale underparts.</blockquote>

Verification