Birds of Texas

Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) 5 1/2"-6"

(Click on picture to enlarge)

© Walter Bauer, San Antonio, Texas - April 2002

Field Marks: This sparrow is afraid of its own shadow.  It is like a Song Sparrow, but much trimmer.  The side of the face is grayer, and the breast streaking much finer and often not aggregated into a central spot.  It is best identified by a broad band of creamy buff across the breast.  This particular bird was very skittish.  It was continually looking and stretching to see if an enemy was nearby. I had to hide in our cedar tree in order to capture this bird on film.  The picture to the left is when it came to the grass edge of our back porch and stretched as high as it could to pear over the grass to check and see if an enemy was  nearby.
Voice: Its song is sweet and gurgling.  It suggests a cross between a House Wren and a Purple Finch.  It starts with low passages, rises abruptly and then drops.
Where found: Alaska, across Canada to ne.  U.S.; south in high w. mts. to sw. U.S.  In winter, s. U.S. to Guatemala.
Texas: Migrant throughout.  Winters (Sept.-May) except in  Panhandle.
Habitat: Thickets, pastures, edges, tangles.