Botteri's Sparrow
Peucaea botterii
Botteri's sparrow is about 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) long and weighs 17 to 26 g (0.60 to 0.92 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a reddish brown crown, pale lores, a pale supercilium, and a rusty streak behind the eye on an otherwise gray face. Their upperparts are reddish brown with thin black streaks (wider in the center of the back) and gray edges on the feathers. Their tail is dusky with lighter feather edges and a dark "ladder-shaped" pattern on the middle feathers. Voice: Only male Botteri's sparrows sing, a "complex, repetitive pattern". During the breeding season they sing from a perch or in flight. One description is "up to 7 short notes, followed by a trill of increasing tempo, then usually concluded by 1–2 phrases of 1–2 notes". A rendering from northern Central America is "tseet-tseet-pwi'i'i't-pweet-pweet-teu'teu'teu'teu'tuetuetuetue".
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Stripe-headed Sparrow
Peucaea ruficauda
The stripe-headed sparrow is 15 to 19.5 cm (5.9 to 7.7 in) long and weighs about 25 to 45 g (0.88 to 1.6 oz). It is a medium to large sparrow whose sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies P. r. ruficauda have a blackish brown crown and nape with a white stripe in the crown's middle. They have a blackish brown triangle from the lores across the ear coverts; the rear of the coverts has a pale spot. The crown and triangle are separated by a wide white supercilium. Their upperparts are mostly rufous-brown with blackish streaks. Voice: In northern Central America the stripe-headed sparrow sings "a varied scratchy warble lasting several seconds; also a rapid tip-tip-tip-tip-tip-tip-tip-ti'ti'ti'ti'ti-tip-tip-tip...". Its call there is "a soft, high-pitched seeet!". Another call is "a nasal chuh".
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: Botteri's Sparrow and Stripe-headed Sparrow.