Song Sparrow

Maria and I found and photographed this 5 and 3/4 inch Song Sparrow at the Balboa Park in San Diego on Saturday. At first we thought it was some offshoot of the Savannah/Belding's race Sparrow, but the dark streaking on the back and breast, along with the facial coloration (rusty and gray cap and brown eye-stripe especially), didn't quite match up to my satisfaction.
The eye-stripe and dark streaking on the breast do match the typical Song Sparrow, though the back seemed initially too dark for it to be the same species. However with a little bit of online research and some consultation with Robert Mortensen at Birding Is Fun, we confirmed that it is a slightly local variation of the trans-continental Song Sparrow.
A fine looking bird for all seasons!

Here are some lighter variations found at the Tres Rios preserve in Phoenix.

Rufous-Crowned Sparrow

The Rufous-Crowned Sparrow has a darker back and darker wings than most of his cousins. They don't stray very far out of the southwest and aren't especially common, so it was nice to see one by the exit to the Desert Botanical Gardens. I didn't even have to do any work.
That being said, I didn't get great pictures either, and I'll be keeping a careful eye out for this rufous-headed rascal next time.
Apparently it's pretty rare to see them in the lower altitudes, and this was the first reported/documented sighting at the Desert Botanical Gardens, YAY.

 Here in the sunlight you can see the rufous cap, as well as the facial stripes and even the hint of a dark line running down the chin. These all help to distinguish the Rufous-Crowned Sparrow from look-alikes such as the Lark and Chipping Sparrows.

In addition to the rufous crown, you can see the peculiarly dark wings. Sparrows usually have a lot of mottling or streaking with white and lighter browns, but not this guy. The tail is similarly dark, but I cut it off in the picture...I know I know.