Bird Guide

Field Sparrow vs Savannah Sparrow

Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)

Field Sparrow

Spizella pusilla

Tiny13 gGrassland

Adults have brown upperparts, a buffy breast, a white belly, two whitish wing bars and a dark-brown forked tail. They have a grey face, a rusty crown, a white eye ring and a pink bill. They have rusty markings behind the eye. There are grey and rufous colour variants of the species. Males and females have a similar appearance with males being slightly larger than the females.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Matt Pelikan · CC BY 4.0
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

Small20 gGrassland

The Savannah sparrow has a typically sparrow-like dark-streaked brown back, and whitish underparts with brown or blackish breast and flank streaking. It has whitish crown and supercilium stripes, sometimes with some yellow (more often near the beak). The cheeks are brown and the throat white. The flight feathers are blackish-brown with light brown or white border. The eyes are dark. The feet and legs are horn-colored, as is the lower part of the bill, with the upper part being dark grey.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Doug Hynes · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: lwolfartist · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in BeakBrain

Photo and call practice, free in any browser.

Play BeakBrain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Field Sparrow and Savannah Sparrow.