Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
Sparrows are a diverse and ubiquitous family of birds with over 30 species found in the US. With some practice, you can move beyond calling them all LBJs (little brown jobs) and begin identifying them by name.
The easiest way to identify the Chipping Sparrow is to look for their bright rufous cap, dark eyeline, and white eyebrow. Juveniles are a little tougher to identify since they don’t yet have the characteristic cap, but they still have the black eyeline. Adult males and females aren’t noticeably different – only duller coloration for females. Their tails are fairly long, and their bill is considered small in comparison to other sparrows. One early naturalist, Edward Forbush, described the Chipping Sparrow in 1929 as “the little brown-capped pensioner of the dooryard and lawn, that comes about farmhouse doors to glean crumbs shaken from the tablecloth by thrifty housewives.”
The males sing a long trill of identical chip notes and a long zeeeee call when giving a warning; only the males sing. You’ll find these active little birds in open scrubby areas and probably on the ground near your backyard feeder. They feed mostly on seeds and insects – beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and some spiders; they prefer to forage on the ground but will make short flights to catch insects. If you want to attract them, be sure there are some seeds on the ground around your feeder and that you have low shrubbery where they can hide.
When nesting, some males may have more than one mate. The females build the nest while the males stand guard. The nests are generally 3 to 10 feet off the ground, and the female may start and abandon multiple nests before finding the final spot she’s happy with. Nest building takes 3 to 4 days, and the result is a flimsy combing of rootlets and dried grasses lined with fine grass and animal hair. These nests are a favorite target of cowbirds who will lay their eggs there and leave them for the sparrow to hatch and feed their young.
The female Chipping Sparrow lays 3 to 4 eggs that are pale blue-green with some brown, black, and purple markings. She then incubates the eggs for up to 2 weeks with the male bringing her food. Both parents feed the nestlings, and the nestlings leave the nest after 8 to 12 days. The mated pair will raise two broods per year.
You’ll find the Chipping Sparrow year-round in central Texas, so get that seed spread on the ground and enjoy the antics of this pretty little bird.
Compiled by Lisa S. Graham. Photo credit: James Giroux.
Sources include All About Birds (Cornell), eBird, Audubon Field Guide, and “National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America”.
