Common Name: Lincoln’s Sparrow
Scientific Name: Melospiza lincolnii
Order/Family: Passeriformes/Passerellidae (New World Sparrows)
Subspecies: There are three known subspecies of Lincoln’s sparrow. Melospiza lincolnii lincolnii, the nominate species and the one found in Las Vegas, is generally larger with more ruddy brown or gray-brown coloring and less yellow edging on dorsal feathers.
Description: 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.[3] Males and females are alike in plumage.
Distribution: Their breeding habitat is subalpine and montane zones across Canada, Alaska, and the northeastern and western United States, although they are less common in the eastern parts of their range. We see these in Las Vegas intermittently, only in winter and spring.
Habitat: They are found mainly in wet thickets, shrubby bogs, and moss-dominated habitats. They prefer to be near dense shrub cover and their nests are well-concealed shallow open cups on the ground under vegetation.
