Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Aimophila ruficeps
The rufous-crowned sparrow is a smallish sparrow at 5.25 inches (13.3 cm) in length, with males tending to be larger than females. It ranges from 15 to 23 g (0.53 to 0.81 oz) in weight and averages about 19 g (0.67 oz). It has a brown back with darker streaks and gray underparts. Its wings are short, rounded, and brown and lack wingbars, or a line of feathers of a contrasting color in the middle of the bird's wing. The sparrow's tail is long, brown, and rounded.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Rusty Sparrow
Aimophila rufescens
The rusty sparrow is 16.5 to 20 cm (6.5 to 7.9 in) long and weighs 34 to 48 g (1.2 to 1.7 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies A. r. rufescens have a chestnut crown with black streaks and a thin olive gray or buffy stripe in its middle. They have dark brown lores, a whitish streak above the lores, a white eye-ring, and a dusky stripe behind the eye on an otherwise olive grayish face. Their back and scapulars are brown with wide black streaks. Their wings are mostly brown with chestnut secondaries and inner greater coverts. Their tail is chestnut brown. Voice: In northern Central America the rusty sparrow sings "a rich, liquid cheet-cheet-swing-you! or sweet-sweet-to'you!. It also makes "an agitated, sputtering scold, seeeee!-peu'peu'peu'peu'peu'peu'peu...". In Costa Rica it sings "resolutely with a bright cheet, chee-chee-chee-chee yew". The species' calls include "a gruff, dry scolding chrrr-rrr-rrr or grrr-grr-grrr and tzee, chip, and tzeek.
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: Rufous-crowned Sparrow and Rusty Sparrow.