Lincoln’s sparrow, Sept 2023 (photo by Steve Gosser)

11 May 2026

Compared to the brightly colored warblers passing through this week, a Lincoln’s sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) doesn’t attract a lot of attention but I’d dearly love to see one. I know they’re here because there were six reports scattered across Allegheny County yesterday including one bird at Schenley Park and three at Homewood Cemetery.

Even when they’re present they are hard to find and that’s part of their allure.

[Lincoln’s sparrow] often stays hidden under thick ground cover, but can be distinguished by its sweet, wrenlike song. …  It lives in well-covered brushy habitats, often near water. This bird is poorly documented because of its secretive nature and breeding habits solely in boreal regions.

These dapper little birds are closely related to song and swamp sparrows. Lincoln’s sparrows have pink legs and wear buffy vests with thin brown stripes. Buffy + Thin Stripes are their defining feature. More ID info here.

Lincoln’s sparrow (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Like boreal forest warblers, Lincoln’s sparrows are only seen in southwestern Pennsylvania for a few weeks during spring and fall migration — May and October.

Range map of Lincoln’s sparrow (image from Wikimedia) orange=breeding, yellow=migration only, blue=non-breeding. Purple spot = year round –> near/at Zion National Park in Utah.

I don’t remember ever hearing one sing but he sounds like a wren with a sore throat. Here’s one singing at Pawnee Lake State Recreation Area near Lincoln, Nebraska …

… and another singing at its breeding grounds in Newfoundland, Canada.

Fingers crossed I’ll see one today.

Looking, looking, looking … I search the ground among the leaf litter hoping to see movement in the dim light.