Like small sandpipers and Empidonax flycatchers, sparrows are often difficult to identify, especially for the beginning birdwatcher. Across the American Heartland, March is the best month to compare our sparrow species since permanent, winter and summer residents may all be encountered.
Common permanent species include song, field and house sparrows (the latter are actually introduced weaver finches but tend to be grouped with native sparrows); vesper and savannah sparrows may also be encountered throughout the year. Common winter residents, present throughout March, include white-throated, white-crowned, fox, swamp and American tree sparrows; they may be joined by rare winter residents such as Le Conte's, Harris' and Lincoln's sparrows. By late in the month, summer residents, including Henslow's, chipping, lark and grasshopper sparrows begin to appear in the Heartland.
House (permanent), white-throated (winter) and chipping (summer) sparrows are common in residential areas but others may turn up at backyard feeders (especially fox, white-crowned and American tree sparrows). As with most birds, the identification of sparrows is aided by the habitat in which they are found; fox, song, white-throated and Harris' sparrows favor thickets, chipping and American tree sparrows are best found in open woodlands, swamp, Lincoln's and Le Conte's sparrows inhabit wetlands and white-crowned, lark, field, grasshopper, vesper, savannah and Henslow's sparrows forage in open fields and meadows. Of course, a good pair of binoculars and an illustrated field guide are essential to identifying these various species.
