The bill of the House Sparrow is black & the Harris's Sparrow's is pink.
The House Sparrow has black lores and lacks the postauricular spot of the Harris's Sparrow.
Knowing that this was not a Harris's Sparrow, my first guess was a Black-Throated Sparrow, but the range is wrong for Houston County and this bird lacks the white eye-streaks of the Black-Throated Sparrow.
As Lockwood & Freeman say, this bird is rare at rural locations, and I didn't expect one. This is the first I've seen in 8+ years.

Back to House Sparrow.

Back to Harris's Sparrow.