Whatbird.com

http://picasaweb.google.com/bkacker/BirdsToIdentify?feat=directlink

This link will take you to my photos on Picasa.  I'm having a great deal of problems posting here (with or w/o photos).  These photos were taken in S. Florida on 10/19 and 10/20.  Would appreciate confirmation of the chipping sparrow.  I think the others are Painted Bunting (female) but am not sure.  The bird is smaller than a Northern Cardinal, cone shaped bill, olive green uppers and yellow underneath, subtle white eyering.  Thanks for any help. 

Perhaps this link will work better:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/bkacker/BirdsToIdentify#

 

Looks good for female Painted Bunting. As for the Sparrow, I dunno, it looks a little more like a White-crowned Sparrow to me, but it's central crown stripe is brown...

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Total birds seen: 205
Latest lifers:
Brown Creeper, Field Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow
Favorite lifers:
Black-billed Cuckoo, Reddish Egret, Wood Stork

Definitely has a rufous cap.  I can put up another photo with the close up of the head if that would help.  If it were a White-crowned Sparrow, I assume it would be immature?

Yes, it's an immature white-crowned sparrow.

Scott

Thanks.  Just so I know; how can I tell the difference?

This bird is bulkier than a chipping, and the eye stripe in a chipping usually runs right through the eye to the bill.  This bird has spotted looking wing bars and a tail that doesn't look extra long for the size of the body.  The eyebrow on this bird looks like it put on mascara as it flares behind the eye.  That doesn't happen in chipping.  Chipping also has a narrower central crown stripe and the rufous stripes this time of year aren't so pure looking.

Scott

Thank you for taking the time to give me a thorough response.  I'm not familiar with either bird but we do get birds 'passing through' here who are not normally here in summer or winter. It's probably clear that I'm a novice birdwatcher but am trying to learn to be accurate in my identification.  I appreciate you giving me information on what to look for.

I don't see this mentioned in the books, but I've also noticed that white crowned sparrow is the only sparrow that has a pale (usually grayish) back with rusty streaking, whereas most sparrows have a rusty back with at least some black streaking.  You can see this pretty well in your first photo.