Sparrow ID with explanation, Coyote Hills, California, september 2023. (1 Viewer)

[ignicapilla]

Hello, can someone please help ID + explain these two sparrows from Coyote Hills, California, september 2023 please? Thank you.

 

[rkj]

If you have any other photos, even poor ones, they might help. Savannah and Song Sparrows occur in that area (I am assuming this is Coyote Hills near Newark, California), and are very similar. To complicate matters, Song Sparrows are quite variable - there are four subspecies that breed around the San Francisco Bay, and I am not very familiar with the ones at Coyote Hills. The tail of your bird seems rather short, which would suggest Savannah Sparrow, but other views might change my mind. The birds are probably molting now, which might make the tail shorter than normal.

 

[THE_FERN]

If you have any other photos, even poor ones, they might help. Savannah and Song Sparrows occur in that area (I am assuming this is Coyote Hills near Newark, California), and are very similar. To complicate matters, Song Sparrows are quite variable - there are four subspecies that breed around the San Francisco Bay, and I am not very familiar with the ones at Coyote Hills. The tail of your bird seems rather short, which would suggest Savannah Sparrow, but other views might change my mind. The birds are probably molting now, which might make the tail shorter than normal.

Does the rufous on the tail make this song?

 

[ignicapilla]

Thanks, I dont think I have other photos

 

[rkj]

Does the rufous on the tail make this song?

Sometimes I can overlook the obvious. Yes, I think that is right.