Song Sparrow - SW Arizona, USA, April (1 Viewer)

[lockbreeze926]

Song Sparrow, right?

The reason I ask is that I came across this old photo from April 2019, taken in Cochise Co, AZ. The bird was quite distant and looked to me like a Song Sparrow, of whatever local subspecies. I've seen many and, yes, they are variable, but still...

The woman (an American) next to me, also observing, said "I think that's a female Red-winged Blackbird".

"Uh, I think it's a Song Sparrow, actually. It's not really anything like a Bla- "

"Yup", she goes - using quite stereotypical language, I admit - "that's definitely a female Red-winged Blackbird". And off she went.

But - Song Sparrow, right?

 

[qwerty5]

Yes, Song Sparrow for sure. Blackbirds have a different shape, and quite different coloring

 

[lockbreeze926]

Ah, yes - should have made clear, it is obviously nothing like a RWB of any stripe; I just quoted the conversation as an example of the certitude of ignorance.

When I found the picture, though, I thought...is it actually what I believed it to be?

Yes, Song Sparrow for sure. Blackbirds have a different shape, and quite different coloring

 

[rkj]

Yes, it is what you believed it to be: a Song Sparrow, and not any other kind of sparrow, blackbird, or anything.

 

[Ruff-Leg]

Song sparrow. Looks like M. m. falax.

 

[MiddleRiver]

Song