How to Identify a Lincoln’s Sparrow

Colleen Gibbs of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, wrote to birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman after seeing a mysterious sparrow in her yard. They explained how to identify a Lincoln’s sparrow.

Colleen Gibbs

She says of the new visitor, “This bird is similar to several other types of sparrows, but it doesn’t seem to match any exactly. What is it?”

What Does a Lincoln’s Sparrow Look Like?

With a beautiful, clear photo such as yours, we have plenty of clues to check. This bird is a Lincoln’s sparrow, an uncommon species in your area that is often shy. Its colors are helpful for checking its identity: The face is mostly gray, with reddish brown stripes along the sides of the crown, a buff mustache mark and a narrow buff eye ring. The chest is also buff with narrow black streaks.

Learn how to identify and attract a chipping sparrow.

Lincoln’s Sparrow vs Song Sparrow

The bold black spot on the chest might be confusing since that’s sometimes considered a field mark specifically for song sparrows, but actually many other sparrows can show that mark.

Psst—Here’s how you can feed native sparrows at bird feeders.

Lincoln’s Sparrow Range

Lincoln’s sparrows can be seen in most areas of the United States and Canada, but can be very uncommon depending on the location and time of year. In summer, these sparrows breed in Canada and parts of the mountain west.

For a larger chunk of the U.S., the Lincoln’s can be spotted during migration or their winter non-breeding grounds, especially in the West. They are less noticeable in the East. Birders in parts of the Southwest and Northwest are outside of this bird’s normal range.

They travel in mixed flocks during migration, so keep your binoculars handy in spring and fall.

What does a dark-eyed junco sound like and look like?

How to Attract Lincoln’s Sparrows

These small, striped ground-foraging birds spend a good portion of their time in dense cover. To attract them to your backyard, plant plenty of shrubs and trees. The branches offer the security that the sparrows need. Also, native plants encourage healthy insect populations for the sparrows to gobble up. Grow seed-bearing plants for these sparrows to feed on during winter.

Next, learn how to identify a white throated sparrow and an American tree sparrow.

Lincoln’s Sparrow Song and Call

Male Lincoln’s sparrows have a very musical song. It’s a rich mix of trills and buzzy notes and lasts for about two seconds. Both males and females belt out a tinny high-pitched call and a series of chips.

Learn the difference between bird songs vs calls.