Birds of Central Oklahoma

All birds New World Sparrows

Lincoln's Sparrow, adult
Adult Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Passes through in March to April and again in October to November.

Recorded by Davyd Betchkal. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, via xeno-canto, trimmed and volume evened out.

Look for

  1. A tan chest with thin black streaks.
  2. A gray stripe over the eye, with brown cheeks and a brown cap.
  3. A tan stripe below the cheek, like a thin mustache. Males and females look alike.

A little about it

Lincoln's Sparrows pass through here in spring and fall. Look for them in March and April, then again in October and November. October has the most.

This sparrow is shy and hides in thick, low plants, so lots of people never notice it. It usually stays by itself and doesn't join flocks. Listen for its call, a hard "chep" from inside the bushes.

It hops on the ground near thick bushes to find food. In summer it eats lots of bugs, like caterpillars and ants. In winter it eats lots of seeds from weeds and grass.

In summer, it nests up north and high in the mountains, in thick, low plants near water. The nest is on the ground, well hidden under grass or bushes. The female lays 4 or 5 pale green eggs with reddish brown spots.

Fun fact

A mother Lincoln's Sparrow may sit still on her nest until danger is very close. Then she scurries away along the ground like a mouse.

When it's here

Taller bars mean more sightings. Most often seen in October.

More birds passing through in spring and fall

How big

SparrowRobinCrowGoose

5 to 6 inches. About as big as a sparrow.

Where to look

Thick bushes and weedy, overgrown fields. Look low, on the ground close to the bushes.

  • Fields and roadsides
  • In the woods

People have spotted it at Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge, Myriad Botanical Gardens, Martin Park Nature Center.

Could it be something else?

  • Song Sparrow

    Its streaks are thicker, and they often run together into a dark spot in the middle of the chest. A Lincoln's Sparrow has thin black streaks on a tan chest.

Where these facts come from