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").