Lincoln's Sparrow

How to find it

Start in scrubby, grassy edges, dry or swampy, and watch the ground under bushes and grass. A Costa Rican naturalist says it is often missed because it gets mistaken for a Rufous-collared Sparrow, so look carefully at every sparrow. Listen for the buzzy zeee or zeet, which can reveal a hidden bird. At Monteverde, spishing brought the first observer's bird out of dense tall grass on a hillside, and it came into clear view several times. Gentle pishing in shrubby fields can also coax one to peek out, but you get only a short time to raise your binoculars.

How to recognise it

This is a small sparrow, about 13.5 cm long. Look for these marks:

Grayish brown upperparts with black streaks.

Bright brown stripes on the crown and wings.

A narrow whitish eye ring.

Gray sides to the head and neck.

A buffy stripe along the cheek.

Fine streaks on a buffy chest and sides.

Compared with a Rufous-collared Sparrow it is slimmer and has no crest. Costa Rican birders debating photos also point to its fine bill and different color pattern when separating it from a young Rufous-collared.

What it sounds like

Recording: Matt Wallace, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Lincoln's Sparrow feeds on the ground beneath grass or bushes, looking for seeds and small insects. It is usually alone, but sometimes wanders with Rufous-collared Sparrows, which is one reason to check every flock closely.

Across its range it usually stays low under thick cover, which explains why it so often slips past unnoticed.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it prefers scrubby areas, either dry or swampy. Reported sites are in the highlands: Monteverde in the Cordillera de Tilarán, and near Cartago and San Pedro de Montes de Oca in the upper Central Valley.

The first Costa Rican records came from the Monteverde area, between about 1390 and 1440 m elevation, in the middle of the Monteverde community. The conservation areas listed for it are Arenal, Cordillera Volcánica Central and Tortuguero.

When to see it

The national bird list gives its stay as mid-November to late February. A Costa Rican guide says November and December seem to be the best months for lost or rare birds, including vagrant sparrows like this one.

Similar birds

The Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) is the usual confusion here, but Lincoln's is slimmer and has no crest. Away from Costa Rica, a Song Sparrow is bulkier and often has a dark central breast spot, while Lincoln's has finer chest streaks and a buffy chest band. Juveniles look much like young Swamp Sparrows, but a Lincoln's rarely has an evenly colored crown.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The official Costa Rican Spanish name is Sabanero de Lincoln. Elsewhere in Spanish-speaking countries it is called Gorrión de Lincoln, Chingolo de Lincoln or Pinzón de Lincoln.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a migrant (M), a rare to casual fall migrant and winter visitor, and its global conservation status is Least Concern.

Photography tips

Patience matters more than gear. Watch low, weedy edges and be ready with binoculars or camera, since spishing or gentle pishing may bring the bird into view only for a short time. The Monteverde bird came out of dense tall grass and showed clearly several times.