A handsome, unstreaked, brightly colored sparrow with different-looking males and females. The male has a distinctive black head and throat with a striking white crescent extending from the eye around the ear. The female has a pale gray head with a diffuse pale crescent, similar in shape to the male’s. Pairs and small flocks are resident in a wide variety of natural and human-altered habitats. House and Great Rufous Sparrows have streaked backs and lack the distinctive facial pattern of the Cape Sparrow.