Chipping Sparrows are slender, long-tailed birds with a grayish belly and brown and black-streaked back, with a rusty crown and black eye line. In winter, the colors are more subdued.
- Spizella passerina
- Length: 4.7-5.9 in (12-15 cm)
- Weight: 0.4-0.6 oz (11-16 g)
- Wingspan: 8.3 in (21 cm)
Range
Chipping Sparrows spend their summer breeding in the US and Canada before flying to Mexico and Florida for winter. Some remain all year in the southern US states.
Habitat And Diet
You can find Chipping Sparrows in small flocks on the ground, often in woods and parks with trees.
Chipping Sparrow Sounds:
They get their name from the sharp ‘chip’ call they make. Their distinctive song is a stuttering trill.
Nests
Nests of Chipping Sparrows are off the ground, hidden in trees or shrubs, and are built by females. The nests are made from dried grass and small roots, but they are very basic and not very dense.
Chipping Sparrows lay up to seven eggs and up to three broods a year. The eggs take around two weeks to hatch, and the young fledge in under two weeks.
Attract Chipping Sparrows
Attract to your backyard with seeds or cracked corn on open feeders such as hoppers or platforms.
Fun Fact:
A group of Chipping Sparrows is known as a tournament.
