Lincoln's Sparrow Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesLincoln's Sparrow
Medium-sized sparrow with fairly small bill. Neat appearance with fine, crisp streaks, gray face with pale eyering, and buffy wash across breast.
© Simon Kiacz / Macaulay LibraryTexas, November 19, 2020© Scott Martin / Macaulay LibraryTexas, January 19, 2016
Adult
Males sing a rich wrenlike song of trills, gurgles, and buzzes. Each song starts off with 2 or 3 bell-like notes before bursting into bubbly trills and gurgles that rapidly change pitch.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, June 18, 2011Not all videos have sound
Medium-sized sparrow with fairly small bill. Crisp dark streaks on buffy breast transition to unmarked white belly.
© Brad Imhoff / Macaulay LibraryOhio, September 24, 2019Gray face, pale eyering, and very fine streaks on buffy breast are distinctive.
© Mike Cameron / Macaulay LibraryTexas, March 10, 2019Gray face, pale eyering, and very fine streaks on buffy breast are distinctive.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, October 12, 2015Breeds in wet meadows among dense shrubs, particularly willows. Also found in wetlands with aspen and cottonwood, and in black spruce–tamarack bogs.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, June 25, 2017Similar SpeciesSwamp Sparrow
Nonbreeding/immature
Nonbreeding and immature Swamp Sparrows can be very similar to Lincoln's Sparrows but usually have rufous in the wings, a neat white throat patch, and no eyering.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, September 30, 2011Similar SpeciesSong Sparrow
Adult (Eastern)
Song Sparrows have larger bills than Lincoln's Sparrows. Their streaking is coarser, and they don't have the Lincoln's pale eyering or buffy wash across the breast.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryVermont, May 22, 2017Similar SpeciesSong Sparrow
Adult
Song Sparrows vary across North America, but they always show coarser streaking than Lincoln's Sparrows, without the eyering or the buffy wash on the breast.
© Steven Mlodinow / Macaulay LibraryWashington, December 28, 2010Similar SpeciesSavannah Sparrow
Adult (Savannah)
Savannah Sparrows have shorter, notched tails. They have a yellowish stripe over the eye, no eyering, and lack Lincoln's Sparrow's buffy wash on the breast.
© Kirk Swenson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, November 11, 2016Similar SpeciesVesper Sparrow
Adult/immature
Vesper Sparrows lack the Lincoln's Sparrow's gray face with neat reddish-brown stripes, and they lack the buffy wash to the breast. Vesper Sparrow has white outer tail feathers which Lincoln's lacks.
© John Reynolds / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, September 04, 2016Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
New World Sparrows(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Passerellidae)
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