Sparrow ID?

[Christopher Miller]

I was going through some of my old photos and found this sparrow that I had photographed a few years ago in late June. At the time, I thought it was an immature chipping sparrow, but now looking at the streaking on the breast I'm not so sure. Can anybody help me?

[Paul Guris]

It is a Chipping Sparrow, but it is a juvenile. Juvs have some streaking on the breast. Everything else fits juv Chipping, including the small pink bill, the streaky cap, and the dark lores.

[Paul Guris]

I just realized that since your location is listed as Mass., I assumed that the sparrow was photographed there. Is that true? Even if not, I believe the dark lores would rule out Clay-colored and Brewer's even in juvenile plumage, but I'm not 100% sure of that. I'm not as up on the juvs of other species in the genus spizella.

[Christopher Miller]

Yes, I photographed it in Mass., in my backyard actually. Thanks for the help. :)

[John Chardine]

Here's a young Chippy for comparison. Image made at Deer Island, New Brunswick, 6 August 2008.

[Christopher Miller]

Thanks John. I can see that my initial ID was correct. What threw me off was none of the resources I checked made any mention of the fact that immature Chipping sparrows have streaking.