Chipping sparrows are preyed on by a wide variety of avian and mammalian predators and snakes. Nest predators include black rat snakes (Pantherophis obsoletus), eastern milk snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum), blue racers (Coluber constrictor), common garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis), American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata), and domestic cats (Felis catus). Adults are taken in flight or when on the nest, largely by avian predators, but including Cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperi), prairie falcons (Falco mexicanus), American kestrels (Falco sparverius), loggerhead shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus), red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus), and domestic cats (Felis catus). Chipping sparrows use alarm calls and threat displays to deter predators. Their alarm calls may alert other species as well, and all may mob the predator. Adults and nestlings are cryptically colored.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Investigations of mitochondrial DNA variation in the genus Spizella suggest that it is not a monophyletic group. Relationships with other genera of sparrows are not well understood.
Chipping sparrows get their common name from the sharp "chip" call that they make frequently as they forage and interact with others. Variations on this "chip" call are used for contact calls, threats, or begging. They also have a song, a single noted trill made up of rapid repetitions of a "tssip." These songs are produced throughout the day by males during breeding season from an elevated perch. It is thought that the song is used to advertise and defend a breeding territory and to attract mates. They also produce alarm and aggression calls that sound like harsh "zee-zee-zee's." Geographic variation in calls and songs is not reported.
Chipping sparrows also perform visual displays to communicate, especially during the breeding season. They use body posture to indicate aggression or appeasement.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Chipping sparrow populations may have increased in North America in response to human changes of habitats, such as logging and secondary regrowth of forests. They do well in suburban areas. In recent years, chipping sparrow populations have declined somewhat with successional changes in forests, intensive agriculture, and competition with house sparrows (Passer domesticus), and increased parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater). However, chipping sparrows are found throughout a wide geographic range and population sizes are large.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There are no adverse effects of chipping sparrows on humans.
Chipping sparrows are delightful to watch and are common near human habitation because of human modification of habitats.
Chipping sparrow distribution may be limited by competition with a close relative, American tree sparrows (Spizella arborea). Nests are sometimes parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), although chipping sparrows seem to recognize these birds and attempt to exclude them from their territories. Nest parasitism may be as high as 92% in some areas. Chipping sparrows may abandon parasitized nests or they may successfully raise cowbird hatchlings. Winter mixed-species flocks often include eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis), yellow-rumped warblers (Dendroica coronata), pine warblers (Dendroica pinus), northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), field sparrows (Spizella pusilla), dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), canyon towhees (Pipilo fuscus), rufous-crowned sparrows (Aimophila ruficeps), white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys), vesper sparrows (Pooecetes gramineus), grasshopper sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum), and chesnut-collared longspurs (Calcarius ornatus).
Mutualist Species:
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Chipping sparrows eat mainly grass seeds and the seeds and fruits of annual plants. They supplement their diet with insects during the breeding season, when up to 38% of the diet may be animal prey. Animal prey includes moths and butterflies, beetles, and grasshoppers and crickets. Chipping sparrows seem to prefer crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis) and yellow foxtail (Setaria glauca>) seeds, but will eat a wide variety of small seeds. They typically forage on the ground or low in shrubby vegetation, either picking seeds or insects off the ground or directly from leaves and stems. They regularly ingest grit and feed it to their young to help them process their seed diet. During the breeding season, chipping sparrows forage alone or with their mate. In winter they forage in flocks of 25 to 50 birds that travel together. These foraging flocks may be composed of different species of sparrows and niche partitioning may occur in foraging flocks as a result of differences in bill size or foraging microhabitat.
Animal Foods: insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit
Primary Diet: herbivore (Granivore )
Chipping sparrows are found throughout most of North America. Some populations are migratory, traveling as far north as central Yukon and east to Newfoundland in Canada to breed. They are found in appropriate habitat throughout the United States and Mexico as well. Populations from the southeastern United States, Texas, southern portions of southwestern United States, throughout Mexico, and as far south as Honduras and Nicaragua may be resident year-round. Populations that migrate to breed in northern North America spend winter in the southern portions of the range, along with year-round residents. Birds may also overwinter in more northern areas if the weather remains mild. They are occasionally seen throughout the Greater Antilles in winter.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )
Chipping sparrows are found in a wide variety of open woodland habitats in winter and breeding ranges, unlike most sparrows which are found mainly in grasslands. They are found in open forests or forest edges, particularly in coniferous forests, and in open, riparian forests. They prefer forests with shrubby undergrowth. Because of their preference for open and early successional forests, chipping sparrows are common in suburban areas, urban parks, orchards, and other human-modified landscapes. During migration they move through a wider variety of habitats, including grasslands, desert scrub, and mountainous areas. Competition with a congener, American tree sparrows (Spizella arborea), may limit their winter distribution.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; scrub forest
Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; riparian
The oldest recorded chipping sparrow in the wild was 9 years and 9 months old. Like most animals, most mortality probably occurs in the first few weeks of life. Most predation is on nestlings, and eggs and nests are vulnerable to extreme weather. During migration, chipping sparrows may collide with large buildings or TV towers and year-round exposure to agricultural pesticides may harm populations.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 9.75 (high) years.
Chipping sparrows are small, delicate, active sparrows with a distinctive bright chestnut crown, bordered by white superciliary areas. They have black eyestripes and lores and a buffy white chin. Their back and wings are streaked black and brown, with faint wing bars. The bill is black above and creamy pink or yellow on the lower mandible. The legs and feet are flesh colored at hatching, becoming deeper salmon as birds age. Males and females are similar in plumage. Males are slightly larger in body measurements but may weigh less than females in the summer. Body length is 127 to 147 mm, mass is 11 to 15.5 g. Although they may be difficult to distinguish from other small sparrows in their juvenile plumage, which is buffy, streaked brown overall with black eyestripes and lores, adult chipping sparrows are distinguished by their bright crown and distinctive facial patterning. There are 5 described subspecies, representing geographic variation in plumage color throughout their range. Some of the subspecies migrate, others do not. However, population mixing in the southern portion of the range has not been thoroughly investigated.
Range mass: 11 to 15.5 g.
Range length: 127 to 147 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Chipping sparrows have long been considered largely monogamous. However, polygyny and extra pair copulations are documented and incidence may be high in some populations. Recent research suggests that males travel widely outside of their territories in search of additional mating opportunities. Mated pairs form soon after males have arrived on the breeding grounds and established a territory. Males attract females with their songs and chase them or perform displays on the ground. Males and females display to each other by collecting nest materials while together. Females beg for food from males as well. Males guard females after copulation to prevent extra pair copulations. Pairs may stay together through a breeding season or new pairs may be formed throughout the season. There are a few reports of helpers at the nest.
Mating System: monogamous ; polygynandrous (promiscuous) ; cooperative breeder
Chipping sparrows breed from mid to late April through July. Pairs begin building nests within a few weeks of arriving on the breeding grounds. Males and females choose a nest site, usually in a conifer tree or shrub from 1 to 3 meters above ground. They are usually built in thick vegetation to provide cover. Females build nests out of grasses, roots, and other fine materials. If the first clutch fails, a second nest will be built and a second clutch attempted. Most chipping sparrows successfully raise 1 brood, although 2 nesting attempts is typical. Females lay from 2 to 7, usually 4, pale blue eggs with brown blotches at the wider end. They lay 1 egg per day and begin incubating just before the last egg is laid. The incubation period is 7 to 15 days, but usually 10 to 12. Fledging occurs at 8 to 12 days and young become fully independent several weeks after fledging. Males and females can breed in their first year after hatching.
Breeding interval: Chipping sparrows usually attempt 2 broods each breeding season, sometimes 3. However, typically only 1 brood is successful each season.
Breeding season: Chipping sparrows breed from mid to late April through July.
Range eggs per season: 2 to 7.
Average eggs per season: 4.
Range time to hatching: 7 to 15 days.
Range fledging age: 8 to 12 days.
Range time to independence: 3 to 5 weeks.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
Males and females defend a breeding territory and protect young against predators. Newly hatched chipping sparrows are naked and helpless, but grow quickly, becoming fully feathered at 6 days after hatching and about 80% of adult weight and able to fly as soon as 8 days after hatching. Females incubate the eggs and brood the young and males feed females on the nest. Males are responsible for most feeding of nestlings for the first few days. Males will often give food items to the female in the nest, who then passes them to the young. If a female attempts a second brood, the male may be left to care for the previous brood. Young are fed seeds and insects and parents carry fecal sacs away from the nest. Once the young have fledged, they remain near the nest with their parents for another few weeks, when they become independent. Juveniles then form flocks with other young birds.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)
A small (5 ¼ inches) bunting, the Chipping Sparrow in summer is most easily identified by its mottled brown back, gray face and neck, conspicuous white eye-stripes, and rusty red crown. Winter birds are browner and duller overall, particularly on the head and face. This species may be distinguished from the similarly-patterned American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) by that species’ larger size and grayer head. Male and female Chipping Sparrows are similar to one another in all seasons. The Chipping Sparrow breeds across south-central Canada and the northern half of the United States. In winter, northerly-breeding populations migrate south into the southeastern U.S., southwest, and northern Mexico. Populations breeding in the southern United States are non-migratory, and other non-migratory populations exist in Mexico and Central America. Chipping Sparrows breed in a number of woodland habitat types with dense undergrowth, preferring habitats composed at least partly of evergreen trees. In winter and on migration, this species is found in a wider variety of habitats including open deciduous forest, weedy fields, and in suburban yards. Chipping Sparrows primarily eat seeds, but this species also eats small insects during the summer months. In appropriate habitat, Chipping Sparrows may be seen walking or hopping on the ground while foraging for food. Birdwatchers may also listen for this species’ song, a single-pitch rattle; as well as its call, a high “chip,” which gives this species its name. Chipping Sparrows are primarily active during the day.
A small (5 ¼ inches) bunting, the Chipping Sparrow in summer is most easily identified by its mottled brown back, gray face and neck, conspicuous white eye-stripes, and rusty red crown. Winter birds are browner and duller overall, particularly on the head and face. This species may be distinguished from the similarly-patterned American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) by that species’ larger size and grayer head. Male and female Chipping Sparrows are similar to one another in all seasons. The Chipping Sparrow breeds across south-central Canada and the northern half of the United States. In winter, northerly-breeding populations migrate south into the southeastern U.S., southwest, and northern Mexico. Populations breeding in the southern United States are non-migratory, and other non-migratory populations exist in Mexico and Central America. Chipping Sparrows breed in a number of woodland habitat types with dense undergrowth, preferring habitats composed at least partly of evergreen trees. In winter and on migration, this species is found in a wider variety of habitats including open deciduous forest, weedy fields, and in suburban yards. Chipping Sparrows primarily eat seeds, but this species also eats small insects during the summer months. In appropriate habitat, Chipping Sparrows may be seen walking or hopping on the ground while foraging for food. Birdwatchers may also listen for this species’ song, a single-pitch rattle; as well as its call, a high “chip,” which gives this species its name. Chipping Sparrows are primarily active during the day.
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.
There are two subspecies, the eastern chipping sparrow and the western chipping sparrow. This bird is a partial migrant with northerly populations flying southwards in the fall to overwinter in Mexico and the southern United States, and flying northward again in spring.
It molts twice a year. In its breeding plumage it has orangish-rust upper parts, gray head and underparts and a distinctive reddish cap. In non-breeding plumage, the cap is brown and the facial markings are less distinct. The song is a trill and the bird has a piercing flight call that can be heard while it is migrating at night.
In the winter, chipping sparrows are gregarious and form flocks, sometimes associating with other bird species. They mostly forage on the ground for seeds and other food items, as well as clambering on plants and trees, feeding on buds and small arthropods. In the west of their range they breed mainly in coniferous forests, but in the east, they choose woodland, farmland, parks and gardens. Breeding starts in late April and May and the nest is often built in a tree.
Throughout the year, adults are gray below and an orangish-rust color above. Adults in alternate (breeding) plumage have a reddish cap, a nearly white supercilium, and a black trans-ocular line (running through the eye). Adults in basic (nonbreeding) plumage are less prominently marked, with a brownish cap, a dusky eyebrow, and a dark eye-line.
Juvenile chipping sparrows are prominently streaked below. Like non-breeding adults, they show a dark eye-line, extending both in front of and behind the eye. The brownish cap and dusky eyebrow are variable but generally obscure in juveniles.
Measurements:[2]
The song is a trill that varies considerably among birds within any particular region. Two broad classes of variation in the song of the chipping sparrow are the fast trill and the slow trill. Individual elements in the fast trill are run together about twice as fast as in the slow trill; the fast trill sounds like a buzz or like someone snoring, whereas the slow trill sounds like rapid finger-tapping. Individual elements in the trill are very similar to a high pitch chi chi chi call.
The flight call of the chipping sparrow is heard year-round. Its flight call is piercing and pure-tone, lasting about 50 milliseconds. It starts out around 9 kHz, then falls to 7 kHz, then rises again to 9 kHz. The flight call may be transliterated as seen? Chipping sparrows migrate by night, and their flight calls are a characteristic sound of the night sky in spring and fall in the United States. In the southern Rockies and eastern Great Plains, the chipping sparrow appears to be the most common nocturnal migrant, judged by the number of flight calls detected per hour. On typical nights in August in this region, chipping sparrows may be heard at a rate of 15 flight calls per hour. On better-than-average nights, chipping sparrows occur at a rate of 60 flight calls per hour, and on exceptional nights chipping sparrows' flight calls are heard more than 200 times per hour.[3]
Chipping sparrows vary across their extensive North American range. There is minor geographic variation in appearance, and there is significant geographic variation in behavior. Ornithologists often divide the chipping sparrow into two major groups: the eastern chipping sparrow and the western chipping sparrow. However, there is additional plumage and behavioral variation within the western group.
At least two subspecies of chipping sparrows occur in western North America. The widespread Spizella passerina arizonae is associated with mountains and arid habitats of the western interior. A Pacific slope population constitutes subspecies S. p. stridula. Although these two races are both western, and are often lumped together as the western chipping sparrow, they do not necessarily form a single entity that stands apart from the eastern chipping sparrow (S. p. passerina).
The chipping sparrow is part of the family Passerellidae, and is not closely related to the Old World sparrows of the family Passeridae.[4]
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.[5] After pair formation, nesting begins (within about two weeks of the female's arrival). Overall, the breeding season is from March till about August.[6]
The chipping sparrow breeds in grassy, open woodland clearings[5] and shrubby grass fields.[6] The nest is normally above ground but below 6 metres (20 ft) in height,[5] and about 1 metre (3.3 ft) on average,[7] in a tree (usually a conifer, especially those that are young, short, and thick) or bush. The nest itself is constructed by the female[5] in about four days.[7] It consists of a loose platform of grass and rootlets and open inner cup of plant fiber and animal hair.[6]
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 millimetres (0.67 by 0.47 in), and incubated by the female for 10 to 15 days.[6] The chipping sparrow is often brood parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds, usually resulting in the nest being abandoned.[5]
The chipping sparrow feeds on seeds year-round, although insects form most of the diet in the breeding season. Spiders are sometimes taken. Taraxacum officinale seeds are important during spring, and seeds from Fallopia convolvulus, Melilotus spp., Stellaria media, Chenopodium album, Avena spp., and others.[5]
Throughout the year, chipping sparrows forage on the ground[8] in covered areas,[9] often near the edges of fields.[5]
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.
There are two subspecies, the eastern chipping sparrow and the western chipping sparrow. This bird is a partial migrant with northerly populations flying southwards in the fall to overwinter in Mexico and the southern United States, and flying northward again in spring.
It molts twice a year. In its breeding plumage it has orangish-rust upper parts, gray head and underparts and a distinctive reddish cap. In non-breeding plumage, the cap is brown and the facial markings are less distinct. The song is a trill and the bird has a piercing flight call that can be heard while it is migrating at night.
In the winter, chipping sparrows are gregarious and form flocks, sometimes associating with other bird species. They mostly forage on the ground for seeds and other food items, as well as clambering on plants and trees, feeding on buds and small arthropods. In the west of their range they breed mainly in coniferous forests, but in the east, they choose woodland, farmland, parks and gardens. Breeding starts in late April and May and the nest is often built in a tree.
