Singing adult White-crowned Sparrow at Red Rock Lakes NWR

Family: Passerellidae

Sparrows, Towhees, Juncos, and Buntings.

New World Sparrows are seed eating passerine birds with conical bills. Many of the New World Sparrows are brown or gray and some have distinctive plumage patterns on their heads. Some species are more colorful including towhees and juncos.

The American Ornithological Society split the family from Emberizidae (Old World buntings) in 2017.