This morning at the Oxon Hill Park I was surprised and delighted at good 
views of a Lincoln's Sparrow. This was along the service road that winds 
down to the Potomac, as it runs between the mowed field on the left and 
the horse pasture on the right, near the far edge of the pasture - so a 
moderately long walk from the parking lot.

Uncharacteristically, the sparrow was not in brush, but in the low, 
tangled, but open branches of trees, so well exposed that I took time to 
note field marks that may be of interest to other birders. The first 
diagnostic noticed was the raised ("pileated") crown, which this species 
often displays and the Song, never. The tail is much shorter than that 
of a Song Sp, scarcely 2/3 that length. Also, the fine lines on the 
flanks do not parallel the line of the wings as on other striped 
sparrows, but are angled away - the only field guide I know to 
illustrate this correctly is the original (1935) National Geographic 
(drawings by Allan Brooks) - the lines on the upper side are also finer 
than those of the Song Sparrow. Another good mark is the gray color 
dominating the back of the head and neck. As for the "buffy wash", it 
was clear on this occasion, but I find not always a good mark in dim 
light. It constricts to a quite narrow band at the center line of the 
breast.

I mention all this partly because I find that all the modern field 
guides (Peterson, Robbins, Sibley, NGS, Rising, plus Fuertes and the 
aforementioned Brooks) differ greatly in their depiction of this 
species, and the novice may be confused by some of them. Over-all, 
perhaps Peterson is the truest to life.

-- 
Fred Fallon
Bowie MD