Sparrow but which one?

[laurie golden]

This photo was taken in Central Oregon - desert area with mostly sage brush and occasional pine. I thought it was a Chipping Sparrow (non-breading) but after investigating I am not sure now. We also have Brewer's Sparrows in this area. The one on the right flew in to the perch after the one with food but was not fed. Not sure if both are juveniles or adult is on the left.

[Dan Brown]

Nice pic! Tough bird! My call is juvenile Chipping. The combination of streaking over the breast, a bit on the belly, and on the left bird more rufous color that I would expect on Brewers. But! Lets see what others think!

[laurie golden]

According to E-bird, others have seen Vesper Sparrows in this location recently.

[John Chardine]

I'm with Dan. I think they are immature Chipping Sparrows. Brewer's is drabber. Here's an immature Chipping Sparrow from eastern Canada for comparison.

[Paul Guris]

With the amount of color on the dorsal side of these birds, I'd vote Chipping as well. I think both Brewer's (in range) and Clay-colored (not in range) would be drabber though I've never seen either in juvenile plumage.

Juvenile sparrows are tough. I believe they only keep this plumage for 6-8 weeks before molting into their fall plumage. The immature fall plumage you see on migration is actually not the same as their juvenile plumage.

[laurie golden]

Thank you Dan, John and Paul for the ID help.

John - thanks for the photo comparison, that confirms it for me.