At that season it is frequently mistaken for the chipping sparrow ... 6.3". Gray head and nape crowned with rufous; rufous stripe behind eye; gray throat and breast, with dark central spot ...

Grayish-brown with a small dark breast spot, white eye rings, and striking white-and-black stripes, the Bell’s sparrow declined to as few as 38 known individuals by 1984. Similarly imperiled, by 1990 ...