The Tree Sparrow is a bird of weedy fields and hedges. In flocks they search for seeds which have fallen upon the snow. When the winter sun shines they call in companionable and softly musical notes. In spring the Tree Sparrow has a gay, somewhat warbler-like song, which I believe is not very well known among our bird students. The Tree, Field, and Chipping Sparrows are similar in appearance. Identification of these birds should not be difficult, however, if one remembers that the Tree Sparrow is a winter bird, while the Field and Chipping Sparrows usually arrive in spring after the Tree Sparrows have returned north. If by some chance the three sparrows do occur together, remember the black spot in the breast of the Tree Sparrow and the yellowish bill, field-marks which the other two species do not have.
Tree Sparrow
CHIPPING SPARROW
Spizella passerina passerina (Bechstein)
Other Name.—Chippy.
Description.—A small, slender Sparrow, noticeably smaller than the English Sparrow. Male: Crown bright reddish brown; forepart of crown and line through eye black; line above eye whitish; rest of upperparts grayish brown, streaked with black; chin and throat white; rest of underparts grayish; bill black. Female: Similar, but duller. In winter both sexes are similar but they are much more streaked, particularly on the crown. Length: Under 5½ inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—An abundant summer resident from early April to mid-October.
Nest.—A neat cup made of fine weed-stalks and grasses, lined almost invariably with horse-hair, and placed in a low bush or rose vine, or sometimes at some distance from the ground in an evergreen tree. Eggs: 3 or 4, delicate blue, wreathed about the larger end with black spots and scrawls.
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Look for the Chippy, as a rule, only near houses or farms. It is not a bird of the wilds, and because of its confiding disposition has come to be associated with our very doorsteps. The monotonous, though cheerful, chipping song of this bird is familiar to all who listen for bird-calls. So rapidly are the chips of its song given that it is almost impossible to imitate it. Remember the black bill and unmarked underparts of the Chipping Sparrow.
FIELD SPARROW
Spizella pusilla pusilla (Wilson)
Description.—Size small; this is one of our slenderest, smallest sparrows. Male: Crown-patch rufous; upperparts grayish brown, streaked with black and rufous; wings with two prominent white wing-bars; underparts whitish, unmarked; bill pink. Female: Similar but duller. Young: Similar but somewhat more streaked. Length: 5½ inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—An abundant summer resident from early April to mid-October, and occasionally later.
Nest.—A neat cup made of fine grasses and slender weed-stalks, lined usually with finer grasses and, as a rule, not with hair, placed on the ground among weeds or in a low, thick bush in a pasture or field. Eggs: 3 to 5, bluish white, spotted with reddish brown.