Birds & Blooms

Chipping Along

The happy trills of this native sparrow can be heard from coast to coast

For prolific author Sneed B. Collard III, chipping sparrows hold a special place in his memory. When doing field research for his book Fire Birds, he accompanie­d Richard Hutto, currently an emeritus professor of biology and wildlife biology at the University of Montana, out bird-watching.

“I clearly recall him pointing out the buzzy trill of the chipping sparrow,” Sneed says. Richard had pointed out that this species sounds like someone rapidly running a stick along a picket fence. “I’ve never forgotten that,” says Sneed, “and now I eagerly listen for the return of that picket fence sound each spring.”

Distinct Features

The most noticeable field mark for chipping sparrows is the chestnut brown cap on top of their heads, but the feature that helps really identify them from similar-looking species, such as field, clay-colored, Brewer’s and American tree sparrows, is the black eyeline stripe.

“The dark eyeline runs all the way to the bill on chipping sparrows,” Sneed says, “but it doesn’t extend past the eye in other species.”

Adult chipping sparrows are plain chested, lacking the streaks and spots of many sparrows, but summer juveniles are streaked at first. Males and females look similar, and both show duller coloring during the nonbreedin­g winter season.

On the Ground

Chipping sparrows are seedeaters. They will come to feeders and are especially fond of open trays, fly-through platforms and hoppers. Black oil sunflower seeds, white proso millet and sunflower chips are favorite eats for chipping sparrows. Small amounts of seed can be sprinkled directly on the ground, preferably near some cover, for these native sparrows.

Sneed most often encounters chipping sparrows feeding on the ground, and adds that insects “form a great part of their diets during breeding season.”

Widespread Sparrow

During spring and fall migration, chipping sparrows can show up anywhere in North America. “You often see them in parks, yards, weedy fields and other open habitats adjacent to some kind of shelter plants,” Sneed says.

With the exception of parts of the southern Great Plains, the breeding range for chipping sparrows extends from Georgia to central Alaska. In winter they can be found across the southern states from California to Virginia, and southward into Mexico. There are also year-round population­s in Mexico and Central America.