Olive Sparrow Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesOlive Sparrow
Adult (Olive)
A towhee-like sparrow with a long tail and heavy bill. Adults are grayish below and olive above with brown crown stripes.
© Suzie McCann / Macaulay LibraryTexas, June 01, 2019Adult (Olive)
Adults are brownish gray overall and have an unmarked belly. Note the whiter throat.
© Marky Mutchler / Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 11, 2018Adult
Sings an accelerating series of chips that sounds similar to a ping-pong ball.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 29, 1998Adult (Pacific)
Along the Pacific and Atlantic slope, some individuals farther south have darker head stripes and are a darker olive above than individuals farther north.
© kenneth reyes / Macaulay LibraryPuntarenas, February 16, 2019Adult
Often holds its tail up or gently flicks it while hopping along the ground.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryTexas, May 01, 1998Adult (Pacific)
Individuals along the Pacific slope have darker and more chestnut-colored crown stripes than individuals in Texas and those along the Atlantic slope.
© Guillermo Saborío Vega / Macaulay LibrarySan José, June 05, 2018Adult
Tends to stay in dense cover on or near the ground.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 01, 1995Similar SpeciesGreen-tailed Towhee
Adult
Green-tailed Towhees have a bright rufous cap and white throat, and they lack the brown head stripes of Olive Sparrows. The two species have only limited range overlap.
© Noah Strycker / Macaulay LibraryOregon, August 30, 2012Similar SpeciesRufous-crowned Sparrow
Adult
Rufous-crowned Sparrows are streaky brown on the back, rather than the solid olive of Olive Sparrows. Rufous-crowned Sparrows have a bright rufous cap and white eyering, which Olive Sparrows lack.
© Doug Hitchcox / Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 23, 2017Similar SpeciesCanyon Towhee
Adult
Canyon Towhees are larger and have a plainer brown tone overall than Olive Sparrows. Canyon Towhees have a reddish brown patch under the tail and lack the head stripes of Olive Sparrow.
© Etienne Artigau🦩 / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 27, 2017Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
New World Sparrows(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Passerellidae)
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