Lincoln's Sparrow is a shy, subtly beautiful sparrow that rewards a close look. At first glance it resembles the common Song Sparrow, but it is crisper and more delicate, with fine, sharp streaks set against a warm buff wash across the breast, a neat gray face, a buffy eyebrow, and a thin, precise eye-ring that gives it a gentle expression. It skulks in low, dense cover, often flushing weakly into a thicket and then peering back out, and it can be surprisingly hard to get a good view of.
It breeds in cool northern bogs and wet, shrubby thickets across the far north and parts of northern Michigan, where the male delivers a rich, bubbling, wren-like song from a low perch. Most people in the state, though, encounter it as a migrant in spring and fall, when it turns up briefly in brushy edges, weedy fields, and damp thickets. Learning to pick the buff-breasted, finely streaked Lincoln's out from among the Song Sparrows is a satisfying skill.
Feeds on seeds of grasses and weeds along with insects and other small invertebrates, foraging on the ground in dense low cover. It takes more insects in the breeding season and shifts toward seeds during migration and winter, staying close to concealing vegetation.
Lincoln's is trimmer and crisper, with fine, sharp streaks over a warm buff breast band, a gray face, a buffy eyebrow, and a thin, neat eye-ring. The Song Sparrow is coarser and grayer, with heavier, blurrier streaks and often a bold central breast spot.
Lincoln's Sparrow is shy and skulking, favoring low, dense cover. It often flushes into a thicket and watches from concealment rather than perching in the open, so patience is needed for a good look.
Mainly as a migrant in spring and fall, in brushy edges and damp thickets. It breeds in cool northern bogs and wet shrubby areas, including parts of northern Michigan.
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