Swamp Sparrow Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesSwamp Sparrow
Adult
Medium-sized sparrow with a rounded tail. Gray face and collar with a rusty cap and a dark line through the eye. Extensive reddish brown in wings. Base of bill is yellow.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, October 12, 2016Nonbreeding adult/immature
Medium-sized sparrow with a rounded tail. Neat white throat contrasts with gray-washed breast. Extensive reddish brown in wings.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, September 30, 2011Adult
Rusty cap and matching reddish brown wings. Neat white throat contrasts with gray face. Flanks are washed with brown.
© Keenan Yakola / Macaulay LibraryMaine, May 07, 2015Adult
Medium-sized sparrow with a rounded tail and extensive reddish brown in the wings. Breeding adult has a reddish crown patch and a gray face and back of the neck.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, April 16, 2016Nonbreeding/immature
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryArkansas, February 01, 2005Not all videos have sound
Nonbreeding adult/immature
Immature and nonbreeding birds have blurry streaks on the chest and have a plain brown, not reddish brown, cap. Note the neat white throat patch.
© Larry Therrien / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, October 07, 2016Adult
Occurs in wetlands with standing water, including freshwater marshes, beaver ponds, and saltmarshes.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryRhode Island, April 20, 2017Similar SpeciesChipping Sparrow
Breeding adult
Chipping Sparrows are less likely to be found in wetlands than Swamp Sparrows. They have a dark (not reddish) line through the eye and a whitish face and throat.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, May 04, 2015Similar SpeciesChipping Sparrow
Nonbreeding
Chipping Sparrows are more common in uplands than Swamp Sparrows. Nonbreeding Chipping has a dark line through the eye and lacks Swamp's extensive reddish brown in the wings.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, October 15, 2007Similar SpeciesField Sparrow
Adult
Field Sparrows have a white eyering, white wingbars, and a pink bill. They occur in drier areas than Swamp Sparrows.
© Daniel Jauvin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, May 22, 2017Similar SpeciesAmerican Tree Sparrow
Adult
American Tree Sparrows have a black-and-yellow bill and two white wingbars, without Swamp Sparrow's extensive rufous color in the wings.
© Paul Tavares / Macaulay LibraryOntario, March 08, 2011Similar SpeciesLincoln's Sparrow
Adult/immature
Adult Lincoln's Sparrows are much streakier than Swamp Sparrows, with a pale eyering and buffy wash to the breast. Immature Swamp Sparrows are streaky and can be very similar to immature Lincoln's.
© Larry Therrien / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, September 30, 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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