I need help identifying this bird. It’s been visiting our yard in the San Francisco East Bay for about a month now. At first, I thought it was an immature White-crowned Sparrow, but now I’m thinking it’s an immature Golden-crowned Sparrow. With Project FeederWatch coming up, I want to make sure I have the right ID. Thanks!
hike.wander.wonder 
A couple other options for bird identification: (1) according to Project Feeder Watch you can send them a photo if you are unable to make an identification after trying more conventional means (see http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/BirdIdentification.htm) and (2) if you have a Flickr account, you can upload photos to the Bird Identification Help Group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/bird_id_group/). Even when I’ve shared poor quality photos (blurry, dark, etc.), the people there have been very helpful and they’ve always come up with the bird’s identity.
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Thanks, Deb! That helps a lot. 🙂
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this is a gorgeous photo!!!! great job! so what is your FINAL decision?
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Thanks! I’ve decided it’s a 1st year White-crowned Sparrow. It showed up a couple days ago with two mature White-crowned Sparrows, with the distinctive black and white striped heads. I so wish I’d captured a photo of one of them!
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No clue.. It’s interesting how attractive these brown and grey birds can be.
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Aren’t they cute?
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According to the Sibley’s (2003) guide here, I would say it’s a 1st Winter White-crowned Sparrow for two reasons. One, the bill of the Golden-crowned Sparrow is supposed to be grayish, and the bill of the White-crowned Sparrow is supposed to be pinkish-orange to orange. Two, the eyebrow is clearly defined on the White-crowned Sparrow and more plain, indistinct on the Yellow-crowned.
Kudos on the camera work though, I can’t even get my dog to stay in focus let alone a tiny bird.
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Hm, it does look like the photo of the White-crowned Sparrow in my Audubon Western Birds book, except the one in our backyard has a yellowish stripe on the forehead.
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Yes, Sibley’s shows a narrow yellow-ish stripe on the crown 1st winter; and it says the Pacific variety has a yellower bill than the other variety. It’s possible you have Golden’s there though as the Winter is when they should be coastal Calif.
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Thanks for the clarification on the 1st winter marking. It’s such a cute little bird. I’m watching it hop around out in the yard right now! With the juncos and towhees…
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Good id picture. Try UC Davis winter sparrow pics. I think you’re right about Golden-Crowned. http://nrs.ucdavis.edu/quail/natural/Birds_towhees.htm
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From that photo, it does appear to be a Golden-crowned Sparrow with winter coloring.
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Looking forward to what you learn! I’m a newbie at bird ID, so I hope to learn from this too.
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Sometimes, they don’t look quite like the pictures in the bird books, and the descriptions can be confusing.. but I’m learning!
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He’s a cute little guy 🙂
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I think so, too!
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