Lincoln's Sparrow

Overview

Lincoln's Sparrow: Medium sparrow, dark-streaked pale brown upperparts, white underparts with dark streaks. Head has brown crown with gray central stripe, and nape, pale eye-ring, and brown streak extending behind eye. Upper mandible is dark, lower mandible is pale orange-brown.

Range and Habitat

Lincoln's Sparrow: Breeds across portions of Alaska and Canada, south to southwestern U.S., central Minnesota, and New England. Spends winters from southern U.S., south to Honduras. Found in shrubby meadows, shoreline forests, bog edges, and wetlands with tall vegetation.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Lincoln's Sparrow shows less geographical variation in song than any other species in its genus, perhaps a result of high dispersal rates among juveniles.
This bird was named by Audubon after his friend, Thomas Lincoln.
Lincoln shot the bird on a trip with Audubon to Nova Scotia in 1834, and Audubon named it "Tom's Finch" in his honor.
They are very secretive. Their song is a musical trill, but this bird is often not seen or heard even where they are common.
A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a "crew", "flutter", "meinie", "quarrel", and "ubiquity" of sparrows.

The Lincoln's Sparrow has a large range, estimated globally at 7,500,000 square kilometers. Native to North and Central America and many nearby island nations, this bird prefers shrubland, grassland, and wetland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 39,000,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of Lincoln's Sparrow is Least Concern.