Dave Patton showed me how to look for these sparrows way back when, and the type of yellow straw and broom sedge fields he described are still the best places I've found to see them. Leconte's Sparrows are secretive, pretty small, and not very easy to flush, but when you can get them to sit in the open, they sometimes pose pretty well for photos. Looking for them first thing in the morning on a cold morning when they come up out of the thick grass to sit on a tall stalk in the sunlight is a trick I learned from Gary Broussard.
The books I used when I was a kid made all sparrows look the same, mostly drab and brown. The first time I got a good look at a Leconte's, it changed the way I thought about sparrows, especially the small grass sparrows. Look at the beautifully patterned back of Leconte's, the rich colors on its face, and the subtle purple streaks on the back of the neck and I think you'll see what I mean. It's a shame this bird hides its beauty in the thick grass.
These birds were photographed this morning at a field that's loaded with Leconte's, a field that was pointed out to me by...Dave Patton.
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