Thursday 13 August 2020

[cobirds] Current ID problem: Vesper Sparrow vs. juvenile Brewer's Sparrow

Hi all:

For other reasons, I recently ran through a number of Vesper Sparrow photos in the eBird/Macaulay Library photo archive. Unfortunately, I ran across a sizable number of photos entered in the Vesper Sparrow entry that are actually of juvenile Brewer's Sparrows. In the field, take note of size and structure. Vesper Sparrow is a fairly big, bruising beast of a sparrow with a fairly wide medium-length tail and, unless very worn, strongly patterned scapulars. Brewer's Sparrow is a tiny waif of a sparrow with, for its size, an outlandishly long (and narrow) tail and rather plain scapulars.

This is the season in which juvenile Spizella sparrows cause angst and consternation among many birders, as, unlike their parents, they are extensively streaked below (less so, for Field Sparrow). If you've recently submitted photos in the Vesper Sparrow entry to eBird, you might do well to revisit those photos.

Enjoy and good birding AND STAY SAFE (masks save lives).

Tony

Tony Leukering
currently Fairborn, OH

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