A chipping sparrow sings in spring to identify its territory. (Photo courtesy National Digital Library/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
One of the noisiest critters in the landscape this time of year is the chipping sparrow.
Fresh from a winter in Mexico, Central America or the southern United States, chipping sparrows (Spizella passerina) arrive throughout the U.S. and Canada in April for the summer breeding season. They perch high in a tree and sing a song to mark their territory, much like their equally vocal neighbors, the Carolina wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus).
There’s nothing particularly musical about a chipping sparrow; however the song is long and, once you’ve heard it, distinctive and easily identifiable.
This is a tiny sparrow, five inches long and weighing only about half an ounce. It has a chestnut cap and a white stripe above the eye. There’s a black stripe that runs from the bird’s beak through the eye to the back of the head. Color and markings are similar for males and females, with the latter slightly duller and occasional dark brown flecks in the crown.
Chipping sparrow males arrive a week or so before the nest-building females. The ordinary evergreens we use in residential and commercial landscapes are favorite nesting sites. The female builds a loosely woven nest, usually low in the tree or shrub. In fact, careful observers can find the nest by watching the female flit from the tree and return with her beak full of twigs.
With a few wing flaps by the female, the pair will get right to it, often in public. Once paired, they share nesting, hatching and feeding-the-chicks duties. A clutch contains two to seven pale blue eggs. The eggs take 10 to 15 days to hatch. Within another 10 days, the chicks fledge, according to the Cornell Lab or Ornithology.
Besides insects, chipping sparrows eat small seeds and fruits. Although they forage on the ground, they also visit bird feeders. In September, they migrate south for the winter.
Fortunately, these loud, brown beauties are with us in great numbers. To hear the chipping sparrow’s song, visit the Cornell Web site.
