Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)

The Lincoln's sparrow is a small brown passerine bird (Family: Emberizidae, Order: Passeriformes). They seem to prefer places near water. The sparrow has conspicuous gray-white eyebrows (photo).

The crown of the sparrow is marked with rusty gray lines and the breast of the sparrow is radially black spotted.

Lake Mendocino, CA
2008-02-15

The Lincoln's Sparrow is an American sparrow. The name "Lincoln", however, does not come from the name of the great US President Abraham Lincoln, as one might think. In 1834, Audubon, the founder of the Natural Audubon Society, named this bird after his companion to his trip to Labrador, Thomas Lincoln (according to "Natural Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds").

Other Emberizidae species:

Golden-Crowned Sparrow
*Zonotrichia atricapilla*

White-Crowned Sparrow
*Zonotrichia leucophrys*

Acorn Woodpecker• American Coot• American Crow• American Robin• American White Ibis• American White Pelican• Anhinga• Audubon's Warbler• Black Phoebe• Black-Capped Chickadee• Blue Jay• Boat-Tailed Grackle• Brewer's Blackbird• Brown Pelican• Bufflehead• Canada Goose• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee• Collared-Dove• Common Gallinule• Common Goldeneye• Common Grackle• Double-Crested Cormorant• Downy Woodpecker• European Starling• Fox Sparrow• Glossy Ibis• Golden-Crowned Sparrow• Graylag Goose• **Great Blue Heron• Great Egret• Herring Gull• House Sparrow• **Killdeer• Least Bittern• Least Sandpiper• Lesser Goldfinch• Limpkin• Lincoln's Sparrow• Mallard• Mourning Dove• Northern Cardinal• Northern Mockingbird• Oak Titmouse• Osprey• Palm Warbler• Pied-Billed Grebe• Purple Finch• Red-Bellied Woodpecker• Red-Breasted Nuthatch• Red-Winged Blackbird• Ring-Billed Gull• Ringed Plover• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet• Sanderling• Sandhill Crane• Semipalmated Sandpiper• Sharp-Shinned Hawk• Short-Tailed Hawk• Snowy Egret• Song Sparrow• Spotted Towhee• Steller's Jay• Tricolored Heron• Trumpeter Swan• Tufted Titmouse• Turkey Vulture• Western Grebe• Western Gull• Western Meadowlark• Western Scrub Jay• **Western Swamphen• White-Breasted Nuthatch• White-Crowned Sparrow• Wild Turkey• Willet• Wood Stork