Bird of the Week # 38

The Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) is a species of New World sparrow, a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It is widespread, fairly tame, and common across most of its North American range. The male chipping sparrows start arriving at the breeding grounds from March (in more southern areas, such as Texas) to mid-May (in southern Alberta and northern Ontario). The female arrives one to two weeks later, and the male starts singing soon after to find and court a mate. After pair formation, nesting begins (within about two weeks of the female’s arrival). Overall, the breeding season is from March till about August. The chipping sparrow breeds in grassy, open woodland clearings and shrubby grass fields. The nest is normally above ground but below 6 meters (20 ft) in height, and about 1 meter (3.3 ft) on average, in a tree (usually a conifer, especially those that are young, short, and thick) or bush. The nest itself is constructed by the female in about four days. It consists of a loose platform of grass and rootlets and open inner cup of plant fiber and animal hair. The chipping sparrow lays a clutch of two to seven pale blue to white eggs with black, brown, or purple markings. They are about 17 by 12 millimeters (0.67 by 0.47 in), and incubated by the female for 10 to 15 days. The chipping sparrow is often brood parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds, usually resulting in the nest being abandoned.

12 thoughts on “Bird of the Week # 38”

spanishwoods on February 9, 2022 at 8:31 am said:

Beautiful images

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- H.J. for avian101 on February 9, 2022 at 7:18 pm said:
  
  Thank you vey much, Sylvia. 🙂
  
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Jet Eliot on February 9, 2022 at 9:22 am said:

Delightful to see all these cheerful sunlit photos of the chipping sparrow, H.J. Great info, too.

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- H.J. for avian101 on February 9, 2022 at 7:19 pm said:
  
  Thanks so much, my friend. 🙂
  
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susanpoozan on February 9, 2022 at 11:46 am said:

What a wonderful gallery of photographs.

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- H.J. for avian101 on February 9, 2022 at 7:20 pm said:
  
  I’m glad you liked it, Susan. 🙂
  
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Jane's Heartsong on February 9, 2022 at 7:25 pm said:

We had a Chipping Sparrow nest in the awning right outside our front door so that was a very entertaining season. Nice to see this one in the photos.

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- H.J. for avian101 on February 9, 2022 at 7:34 pm said:
  
  Thanks so much, Jane. I hope they come back again. 🙂
  
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bayphotosbydonna on February 9, 2022 at 8:33 pm said:

Beautiful shots of the Chipping Sparrow, HJ! 🙂

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- H.J. for avian101 on February 9, 2022 at 8:42 pm said:
  
  Thanks a lot, Donna. 🙂
  
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tanjabrittonwriter on February 9, 2022 at 11:24 pm said:

Lovely photos, HJ. I look forward to the day when I will see a Chipping Sparrow this year because that means that spring has arrived.:-)

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- H.J. for avian101 on February 10, 2022 at 3:13 pm said:
  
  I’m hoping for spring to be here too! It’s been a cold winter in Georgia. Thank you, Tanja. 🙂
  
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