[Tweeters] bird ID assistance?

[Jim Betz via Tweeters]

Hi,

   Sorry, I don't have a picture.  There was a bird at our fountain - 
the size of a finch/sparrow.  It

was an overall greyish color with very light variations similar to a 
finch/siskin.  But there was a

light tan stripe all the way down the center of the back - about a half 
inch wide and from just

behind the neck to about the start of the tail feathers.  Any ideas?  I 
tried to get a picture

but the bird flew off.  If I had to guess I would call it a "finch of 
some kind" due to size,

behavior, bill and head and body shape, etc.  But I've never seen that 
1/2" stripe.  I would

also offer that the bird -may- have been in molt ... the feathers seemed 
"soft".

- Jim