By Tony Gazso, Interpretive Naturalist 

As fall migration continues, northern Ohio is about to be inundated with sparrows. October is sparrow season, that time of year when tons of little brown birds pass through our area (some of which stay throughout the winter). It’s easy to disregard these little birds. After all, to most they all pretty much look the same. A closer look, however, reveals the beauty and subtle differences amongst these birds. Before we go much further, keep in mind that we won’t be discussing the house sparrow. These very common birds are native to Eurasia and were brought to this country in the late 1800s. Additionally, although they’re similar in appearance, the house sparrow is not closely related to the North American sparrows at all!

For identification purposes, sparrows can be divided into two main groups based on visual appearance; streaked and unstreaked. When looking at sparrows, the key is usually in the facial features. The pattern on a sparrow's head can sometimes be the determining factor in identifying similar-looking birds. Song and Savannah sparrows, for instance, can look quite similar, but the addition of a yellow “eyebrow” sets the Savannah apart. Similarly, the black and white stripes on the head of the white-throated sparrow are different than those of the white-crowned.Our most common native sparrow is the song sparrow. Found throughout the state year round, the song sparrow is a good sparrow to get familiar with. All other streaked sparrows can be compared to it. The aforementioned Savannah sparrow differs in contrast and that yellow “eyebrow.” And the Lincoln’s has a slightly different color pattern and thinner streaks. On the other end of the spectrum, common unstreaked sparrows include the chipping (common in summer) and the American tree sparrow (who essentially swaps places with the chipping, taking the winter shift). These two can also be determined by facial patterns. Both have a brown cap, but the chipping sparrow’s black eye stripe and dark bill is countered by the American tree sparrow’s brown eye stripe and bi-colored bill. All in all, there are more than a dozen species of sparrow that visit our area in fall, including appearances by wetland sparrows like the LeConte’s sparrow and Nelson’s sparrow, both of which trade in the typically drab browns for a splash of orange and gray. Although many birders, especially newer ones, are sometimes dismissive of our little brown friends, I hope next time you see one, you’ll take a closer look at the subtle beauty in these all-too-often-overlooked birds.