The "bay-winged bunting," as it was formerly known, was given the name "vesper sparrow" because it frequently sings during the early evening hours and well into the night. The rich, musical song of the vesper sparrow, which is reminiscent of the song sparrow's (Melospiza melodia) melody, consists of a pair of repeated notes, represented as, "here-here where-where," followed by a series of descending trills. The first two notes are long, slurred, low-pitched whistles while the latter two notes are higher-pitched. The call of the vesper sparrow is a short "hsip." The vesper sparrow is a stocky, short-tailed, grayish-brown sparrow with a streaked breast. The upperparts are pale gray-brown and marked with black streaking. The breast is grayish white and streaked with black. A brown cheek patch, which reaches behind the eye, is adjacent to a white sub-mustachial stripe that extends down from the bill. A thin, dark malar stripe (mustache) also extends from the bill, separating the white sub-mustachial stripe from the white throat. There is a white eye-ring that stands out against the brown cheek. Rich brown lesser coverts appear as chestnut shoulder patches on adults. However, the brilliance of these patches is variable and, depending on the view of the bird, may be difficult to see. The wings are marked with a pair of narrow, white wing bars. The tail, which is a key diagnostic indicator in flight, is notched and black with white outer tail feathers, similar to that of a junco (Junco hyemalis). The bill is conical-shaped with a dark upper mandible (jaw) and a flesh-colored lower mandible. Likewise, the legs are flesh colored. The iris is reddish brown to dark brown. Although males are slightly larger, the sexes are otherwise similar. Juveniles resemble adults but are buffer overall, have broader wing bars, and lack the chestnut shoulder patches. Habitat Inhabitants of open areas, vesper sparrows reside in cultivated fields, grasslands, fallow fields, and pastures. Agricultural fields containing crops of corn, soybean, alfalfa (Medicago sativa), hay, timothy (Phleum spp.), wheat (Agropyron spp.), or strawberry may be occupied. Farmed areas that are adjacent to fallow fields or contain uncultivated strips along fence-rows are favored. These fallow areas provide nesting habitat, cover, foraging sites, and singing perches. On active farmlands, human disturbance and crop