M. l. lincolnii is generally larger with more ruddy brown or gray-brown coloring and less yellow edging on dorsal feathers.[1] M. l. gracilis is smaller with more yellow on dorsal feathers and broader dark shaft streaks creating greater contrasts in dorsal coloration.[2] Its breeding habitat extends from the southern Alaskan archipelago to central British Columbia.[2] M. l. alticola, the Montane Lincoln's Sparrow, is the largest subspecies and most uniform in color with a mostly brown back and narrow shaft streaks on dorsal feathers.[2] It lives in the central Rocky Mountains of Canada and the mountains of California and Oregon and breeds as far south as New Mexico and Arizona.[2]