Photos of a Clay-colored Sparrow found on Bulle Rocke Parkway near Havre de Grace in January 2007
The Following Photos are courtesy of Dave Ziolkowski
This photo shows the brown rump (vs. grey of a Chipping Sparrow)
This photo shows the contrast between the gray nape and the buffy/white breast, the white central crown stripe, the brown ear patch with outline, and the pale lores (vs. the black lores of a Chippy)
This photo shows the gray nape, the lack of contrast between the upper back and the lower back, and again the bordered ear patch and pale lores. The bold white edging on the tertial feathers and the relatively clean breast strongly suggest that this is an adult. This fits with Matt Hafner's assertion that Mid-atlantic fall sightings tend to be overwhelmingly 1st winter birds while over-winter records tend to be adult birds.
The Following Photos are courtesy of Chris Starling
The Following Photos courtesy of Sean McCandless
