A Sparrow Sampler, Part 2

If non-birders think about sparrows at all, they think of them as LBJs, Little Brown Jobs: Drab, boring and all the same. It’s not true, but there are 132 recognized species of New World Sparrow, the Passerellidae, and in juvenile plumages some can be tough to identify with certainty. For WC it adds to their charm. While WC has photographed only a fraction of the species, they are too many for one post. Part 1 was posted Sunday. Here’s Part 2 of a Sparrow Sampler.

(Click on an image for a larger view)

Volcano Junco, Costa Rica

Yellow-eyed Junco, Arizona

Dark-eyed Junco, Idaho

Abert’s Towhee, Arizona

Green-tailed Towhee, Oregon

Eastern Towhee, Missouri

California Towhee, California

Orange-billed Sparrow, Ecuador

Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Texas

Swamp Sparrow, Missouri

Half-collared Sparrow, Southeast Brazil

Bachman’s Sparrow, Texas

Sagebrush Sparrow, Idaho

Lark Sparrow, Idaho

Brewer’s Sparrow, Idaho

Large-footed Finch, Costa Rica

Vesper Sparrow, Idaho

Obviously, there are species of sparrows that aren’t called “sparrows.” There are Juncos and Towhees, as shown above, and species called Brushfinches and Chlorospingus. There are even sparrows called Buntings, although most Buntings aren’t sparrows. It’s messy.

And, at the risk of being obvious, WC has a long ways to go photographing Sparrows. But perhaps the thirty-plus shown in these two posts give you an idea of the diversity and range of these little birds. And why they are a great deal more than just “Little Brown Jobs.”