Melospiza lincolnii
Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Lincoln's sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) is a small sparrow native to North America. It is a less common passerine bird that often stays hidden under thick ground cover, but can be distinguished by its sweet, wrenlike song. Lincoln's sparrow is one of three species in the genus Melospiza which also includes the song sparrow (M. melodia) and the swamp sparrow (M. georgiana). It lives in well-covered brushy habitats, often near water. This bird is poorly documented because of its secretive nature and breeding habits solely in boreal regions.
Adults have dark-streaked olive-brown upperparts and a light brown breast with fine streaks, a white belly, and a white throat. They have a brown cap with a grey stripe in the middle, olive-brown wings, and a narrow tail. Their face is grey with brown cheeks, a buffy mustache, and a brown line through the eye with a narrow eye ring. Males and females are alike in plumage. They are somewhat similar in appearance to the song sparrow although smaller and trimmer with finer breast streaks.
Juveniles strongly resemble juvenile swamp sparrows with a streaky chest and not yet buffy breast, but Lincoln's sparrows rarely have a unicolored... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lincoln's Sparrow sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 5,555 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 121st most-seen of the 426 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lincoln's Sparrow in Los Angeles on a given day, against under 5% in April to September, the lowest months. Those are among Los Angeles's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain a month against almost none in June.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lincoln's Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
14th of 39
Of the 39 cities where we can rate Lincoln's Sparrow sightings, Los Angeles ranks 14th at about 10%. The best odds are in León (México, about 20%), Mexico City (México, about 20%) and Austin (United States, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lincoln's Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Angeles (5,555 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
