Savannah or Song Sparrow Feeding 2019

On January 14, 2019, the day after a snow storm, this unusual streaked sparrow showed up in my Topeka Kansas yard. At first I thought it was a song sparrow, as I’ve occasionally had them visit after winter storms. But this sparrow looked different.
To identify this bird we need to look at all of its traits. Both savannah and song sparrow have streaked breasts and both have a central breast spot. A savannah sparrow has finer streaking and a smaller spot than a song sparrow. But those traits are relative and we don’t have a song sparrow for comparison.
Song sparrows appear to have a bigger head and a larger bill than a savannah sparrow. The head and bill on this bird do not look big, but again this isn’t obvious when you don’t have a song sparrow for comparison.
The savannah sparrow has a yellow lore but the song sparrow does not. The lore is the area between the eye and the bill. But in the winter the lore is faded and can be difficult to see. In contrast, the lore is bright yellow during breeding season.
In winter, I think the best way to distinguish a savannah sparrow from a song sparrow is using the length and shape of the tail. The song sparrow has a long tail with a rounded end. The savannah sparrow has a short tail with a notch in the end. The short notched tail is obvious on this bird.
This bird has a small bill, a faint yellow lore, and the short notched tail. Therefore this is a savannah sparrow.
Something I noticed on this sparrow that I do not think is shared on a song sparrow is the two parallel white lines on the sparrows back. Do you know if that is a unique trait of a savannah sparrow?
In the 25 years I’ve been feeding birds in my yard, this is the first time I’ve had a Savannah Sparrow. They generally are seen during spring and fall during migration in Kansas. But they are seen in the country where there are few trees. They are NOT a bird of suburban landscapes.
As far as their presence in winter, they generally are found south of Kansas but a few do remain in winter – more so in the southern half of the state. The fact that they are NOT common winter birds in Kansas and that they are not backyard birds makes it that much more unusual to have one in my yard.
Let’s identify the other sparrows seen in this video
The small gray faced sparrow with a rusty cap is an American tree sparrow.
The larger sparrow with a tan and brown striped head and long tail is a white-throated sparrow.
The dark gray sparrow with the white belly is a dark eyed junco.
All are native sparrows of North America.
Our native sparrows are ground feeders. To attract them to your yard, feed cracked corn or white millet on the ground near cover, such as a shrub or an evergreen. If you don’t have natural cover, construct a brush pile and feed around it. I’ve included some links to bird reference books in the video description.
Thanks for letting me share wtih you my first yard savannah sparrow.