Seasonal Birds and a Lincoln's Sparrow

Yesterday an American crow landed in my backyard.  Crows, of course, are common, but they almost never come into my yard.  We were worried that it might find the catfood and bring its flock, but it flew away.  Below is a photo of it sitting on a telephone pole.

American Crow

Looking out the window, I saw a very pretty male Allen's hummingbird visiting the bird of paradise plants and picking the bugs off a dead tree.   Below is a photo of the hummingbird sitting in the dead tree.

Allen's Hummingbird

Right now is the time when both the summer and winter birds are here.  The summer birds just arrived and the winter birds are about to leave, but right now I can see both.  The warblers are passing through, the cliff swallows are flying around, and the orioles are preparing for nesting season.  The cedar waxwings are still singing high up in the trees, and the white-crowned sparrows are singing in the bushes.  Sometime soon the tanagers and grosbeaks should be arriving.  Below are two photos.  The first is of a lovely male hooded oriole and the second is of a white-crowned sparrow.

Hooded Oriole

White-crowned Sparrow

When I was taking the photo of the white-crowned sparrow above, I noticed a different sparrow hopping through a bush by itself.  At first I thought it was a song sparrow because it was brown, but it lacked the dark central spot that song sparrows have.  It was a Lincoln's sparrow.  Lincoln's sparrows are found in Canada, Alaska, and the central United States in the summer, and the Pacific coast, the southern United States, and Mexico in the winter.  They are similar to song sparrows, but are smaller and have smaller beaks.  They lack the large central spot and have thin streaks on a pale tan chest.  Overall, they are a bit paler.  Below is the Lincoln's sparrow in a bush.

Lincoln's Sparrow