Long-tailed sparrow with rufous cap, white eyering, and strong white-and-black "mustache" or malar stripes.
Overall grayish sparrow with rusty stripes on the back. Strong face pattern with rufous crown, white eyering, and dark stripes at sides of the throat.
Walks or hops, pecking or scratching at the ground for seeds and insects often under the protective cover of shrubs or dense grasses.
Long-tailed, grayish sparrow with rusty stripes on back. Rufous cap and stripe through eye; white eyering.
Found in open, shrubby areas on dry slopes with patchy ground cover. Avoids dense woody habitats.
Males sing a mix of slurs and chatters with a bubbly quality reminiscent of a Northern House Wren in spring and summer from exposed perches or while in flight.
Found in open, shrubby areas on dry slopes, often with areas of bare rock or patches of sparse grass.
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Rufous-crowned Sparrows are relatively large sparrows with rounded heads and fairly long tails. The thick, pointed bill is fairly large.
Larger and bulkier than a Chipping Sparrow; smaller than a White-crowned Sparrow.
sparrow-sized or smallerRufous-crowned Sparrows along the Pacific coast tend to be smaller and more reddish above than individuals in the Desert Southwest, which are browner above. Individuals from offshore islands such as California’s Channel Islands tend to be darker overall than mainland birds.
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