Bell's Sparrow
Artemisiospiza belli
Bell's sparrow is about 12 to 15 cm (4.7 to 5.9 in) long and weighs about 13 to 17 g (0.46 to 0.60 oz). Males are larger than females but the sexes have the same plumage. Adults in fresh plumage have a mostly dark gray head and nape. They have dusky blackish lores, a white patch above them, a white eye-ring, and sometimes a faint whitish supercilium and dark line behind the eye. They have a white streak below the ear coverts with a black stripe below it. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are brownish with very indistinct fuscous streaks on the back. Voice: Only male Bell's sparrows sing, and do so throughout the breeding season though song frequency declines as the season progresses. The song is described as jumbled, warbled, and buzzy, and each individual has several variations of its song. Males sing from atop a shrub or just below its top. The species' contact call is a "short musical tink" that often is repeated as a twitter.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sagebrush Sparrow
Artemisiospiza nevadensis
The sagebrush sparrow is about 12 to 15 cm (4.7 to 5.9 in) long and weighs about 15 to 22 g (0.53 to 0.78 oz). Males are larger than females but the sexes have the same plumage. Adults in fresh plumage have a mostly pale to medium gray head and nape. They have dusky gray lores, a white to buff-white patch above them, a white eye-ring, and sometimes a faint white supercilium and dark line behind the eye. They have a white streak below the ear coverts with sometimes a thin black stripe below it. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are brownish with fuscous streaks on the back. Voice: Only male sagebrush sparrows sing, and do so throughout the breeding season. The song is described as a "series of short musical buzzes on different frequencies with abrupt beginnings and endings". Males sing from atop a shrub or just below its top. The species' contact call is a "short musical tink" that often is repeated. It also makes a "sharper and shorter" warning call.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Bell's Sparrow and Sagebrush Sparrow.