Alas, however, the chipping sparrow is not always cooperative enough to allow a close inspection, and many chipping sparrow sightings must be logged as "sparrow species" or "little brown job." Ah! But ...

Declare you saw a sparrow, and most people invoke an image of a small, dull, brown bird. But tell that to an experienced birder, and he or she will ask, "Which species of sparrow did you see?" In ...