What type of Sparrow?

Another one from last summer that I haven't identified 100%. I thought initially a song sparrow but I'm not so sure now.
As always any help gratefully received.

It looks like a female Red-winged Blackbird to me, but I'm not very good at bird IDs, so wait for the experts.

Patti

Does look very like a female Red-winged Blackbird. Any more pics of it? I'd like a better view of the bill to be 100% sure.

Resin

Not Red winged blackbird - beak is completely wrong shaped for it. Redwing have thinner beaks - this one have classic finch or sparrow shape beaks.

look page 374 of Sibley - Identification of Sprizella sparrows - immatures can be very similiar

Looks like an juvenile Chipping Sparrow...but not 100% on that.

ChirpChirp what do you think?

To me it's a sparrow - typical sparrow behavior - foraging in the grass in the open on the ground. Redwing blackbird females are mostly secertive and doesn't wander much from their cattail habitation. I have seen them at feeders and they look more similiar to female red breast grosbeak in size than to sparrows.

Thank you for all the investigative work going on for this ID. Unfortunately I don't have any other pictures taken at the same time as this one which I could say for sure was the same bird. On the one-hand a female red-winged blackbird would make sense purely because I had confirmed for me from a previous ID that they were in the yard during the summer, but when I first looked at the picture I thought sparrow.
One thing I have just noticed which would support the sparrow suggestion is the pink legs and feet, if my (limited) knowledge serves me correctly the red-winged blackbirds feet are black. Any further thoughts?

This message was edited Jan 23, 2011 4:49 PM

Then again, compare these two pics of Elphaba's:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8326424
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8326422

I'm still not sure it isn't a R-wB!

Resin

While your at it...female? or young male? R-wBB

Burd, My vote on your shot is a female RwBB. That is a beautiful photo!!!

This is one that I have of what I'm pretty sure is a young male RwBB. It was shot in June in south Texas. It was with a group of RwBBs.

And just for the record, I still think the OPs bird is a female RwBB. All the ones I've seen have a more robust beak than the one in Sibley's. And they do forage on the ground. There are lots of them in TX.

Patti

You could had explained that part earlier, P Edens.

'Fraid it's true that a lot of bird artists seem to have trouble with beaks - look at Chickadee bills on some photos, and then in almost any field guide. And legs are often drawn too thin, too.

Resin

I've been looking through my photos trying to help with this ID, I came across this photo which was taken a couple of minutes after the other one, am I right in thinking these are adult chipping sparrows?

Chipping left, Song Sparrow right

Different birds to the first pic!

Resin

Thanks Resin, I thought it would save me starting yet another thread if I stuck the picture in here!