Mystery Sparrow ID help

At least I think it's a sparrow. Maybe a juvenile something? Taken this morning in a local grassland preserve. There were numerous Grasshopper Sparrows around, but this seemed larger and darker. There were also plenty of Song Sparrows, and I have seen Savannah's there, although not (to my knowledge) this morning. This bird has yellow supralorals, a blackish cap with thin white medial crown stripe. Generally scruffy, with no clear streaking, just blotchiness on breast. Hint of yellow on the shoulder. In a few frames there is a hint of malar marking that might some day become a Savannah facial feature, but not clear. Bill seems chunky, with curved culmen; maybe too thick for Savannah? Doesn't look right for White-throated, and I think they've left here for the season. I don't believe it's a young RWBL, or Dickcissal, or Grosbeak, or Finch. I'll post a second frame, larger crop, after this one. Any thoughts?

Here's a different view, large crop.

Bill, it sure has the head shape of a Grasshopper Sparrow with that long forehead-to-bill line. Never seen a young one, perhaps that is what it is.

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Originally Posted by Daniel Cadieux

Bill, it sure has the head shape of a Grasshopper Sparrow with that long forehead-to-bill line. Never seen a young one, perhaps that is what it is.

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Thanks Daniel. After getting another adult Grasshopper Sparrow image the other day, and comparing this to it, I came to the same conclusion -- a juvie Grasshopper.

Juvenile Grasshopper sparrow almost immediately develop a dark cap. GRSP also have a thick bill and distinct eye ring. This bird looks like a juvenile Seaside sparrow.

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Originally Posted by Tim King

Juvenile Grasshopper sparrow almost immediately develop a dark cap. GRSP also have a thick bill and distinct eye ring. This bird looks like a juvenile Seaside sparrow.

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Thanks Tim. I hesitated to mention that option because of the location and habitat. This is a native grassland preserve, some 30 miles west of Raritan Bay where the nearest Seaside Sparrows are known to reside. (Although we have seen a pair of Glossy Ibis on the pond here this year, and two years ago a Red-necked Phalarope was seen being dragged down by a Snapping Turtle, so vagrants are possible.) The yellow supraloral does look like a Seaside, and I was perplexed by the lack of eye ring. This bird does, however, have a hint of black cap with median crown stripe. GRSP would be the more likely (there are several breeding pairs in the immediate vicinity), but one can't always tell from a single image. Perhaps we'll never know.

A few thoughts. First, I'm not convinced this bird is a juvenile, but I'm not convinced it's an adult either. It's a mess which means it's either in heavy molt, is wet, or both. Some of the feather tracts appear to be heavily worn indicating an adult, but I'm just not sure from these shots

It's definitely not a juvenile Seaside. Juv. Seaside should have really obvious facial stripes, which causes them to be misidentified somewhat regularly as Saltmarsh Sparrow.

Looking at the plain and unstreaked underparts, lack of pale malar, lack of pale throat, ultra plain face, and dark spot at the back of the ear coverts, I'd call it Grasshopper. The yellowish lores (actually looking more buffy to me) are fine for this species. The bill shape seems better for Grasshopper as well, though this can be a tough call from one or two photos. Seaside always appears to be long billed to me, not just thick.