Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Phyl]

Chipping Sparrow
Spizella passerina



Chipping Sparrows are easier to see than many sparrows because they are relatively tame and often feed on the ground. They are fairly common in Tennessee in the summer, and rarely spend the winter in the state.

Chipping Sparrows are among our earliest spring migrants, when their mechanical trill-song can be heard from trees or shrubs in wooded suburbs or along rural roadsides. The contact call is a sharp chip-note and may be the origin of their common name.

This sparrow breeds from very eastern Alaska through Canada, southward to the southern United States, Mexico and Central America; they are absent from the southern Great Plains and Florida. The winter range extends across the southern tier of the United States south to Central America. Chipping Sparrows are found throughout Tennessee from early March to mid-October, with a few birds spending the winter.

Description: The Chipping Sparrow is one of the smallest sparrows. It is easily identified during the breeding season by the reddish-brown cap, white line over the eye, black line through the eye, and pale gray unstreaked chest.

In the non-breeding season (August-March), the cap is brownish, the stripe over the eye is dusky, and the line through the eye is dark, but not obviously black, and the breast remains unstreaked. The juvenile (May-September) has a prominently streaked chest and head. Males and females look the same.

Length: 5.5"
Wingspan: 8.5"
Weight: 0.42 oz

Voice: The song is a low even-pitched mechanical trill lasting about four seconds. The call is a high, thin chip.

Similar Species:

American Tree Sparrows, an irregular winter visitor to Tennessee, are larger, and have a dark central chest-spot, a rusty crown and a rusty (not black) stripe through the eye. In winter, the Chipping Sparrow crown would be brown and the eye stripe dark in color.
Field Sparrows have a plain face, a thin white eye-ring, and a bright pink bill.
Dark-eyed Juncos have a very similar song, but their trill tends to be more musical.
Habitat: Found year round in wooded suburbs, cemeteries, golf courses, orchards, pastures with scattered trees, and rural roadsides.

Diet: Grass and other small seeds, small fruits, and insects.

Nesting and reproduction: Chipping Sparrows may form loose flocks when they return in March, and males begin defending individual territories in early April. They nest at middle to low elevations throughout most of the state, and peak egg laying is from late April to early May. Chipping Sparrows frequently raise two broods.

Clutch Size: Usually 3 to 5 eggs, with 4 eggs most common.

Incubation: The female incubates the eggs for 11 to 12 days.

Fledging: Both adults feed the nestlings, which fledge in about 9 days.

Nest: It takes the female 3 to 4 days to build the loosely woven cup-nest constructed from rootlets, and dried grasses, and lined with animal hair or fine plant fibers. It is placed in a dense shrub, vine tangle, or on a low horizontal branch. Nest heights in Tennessee range from 1.5 to 40 feet, with an average of 7 feet above the ground.

[Phyl]

Chipping Sparrow, continued


Status in Tennessee: The Chipping Sparrow is a fairly common summer, and a rare winter resident throughout Tennessee. It generally arrives in March or early April, and departs by late October. The population appears to be stable or slightly increasing.

Map of Chipping Sparrow eBird observations in Tennessee

Fun Facts:

Most species of birds molt all of their feathers after the nesting season, and some or all of their feathers again before the beginning of the next nesting season. Curiously, Chipping Sparrows may molt the feathers of their face and throat up to six times in one year. The rest of the body feathers are only replaced once or twice like other species.
The oldest known Chipping Sparrow in the wild was 11 years, 10 months old.
Best places to see in Tennessee: Yards, feeders, and open grassy areas with woody shrubs and/or forest edges statewide.

[Phyl]

Chipping Sparrow, continued









Sources:

Middleton, A. L. 1998. Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina), The Birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Nicholson, C. P. 1997. Atlas of Breeding Birds of Tennessee. Univ. Tennessee Press, Knoxville.
Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York, NY.

[Phyl]

Field Sparrow,
Spizella pusilla



The Field Sparrow is distinctive among sparrows for having a bright pink bill. It breeds across the eastern United States and southern Canada, and can be found in Tennessee throughout the year. It inhabits brushy pastures and second growth scrub, and is considered a partial migrant, because some individuals remain on or near the breeding grounds in winter, while others move farther south. During the non-breeding season, this sparrows usually forages in small flocks and feeds primarily on grass seeds.

Description: This sparrow has a plain gray face with a rusty-brown streak behind the eye, a reddish cap, a thin white eye-ring, and a pink bill; the chest is pale gray and unstreaked, the back is rusty-brown, the wings have two thin white wing-bars, and the legs are pink. Juveniles (May-October) are duller in color, with narrow dusky streaking on chest, sides, and crown. As with most sparrows, the male and female look alike.

Length: 5.75"
Wingspan: 8"
Weight: 0.44 oz

Voice: The song is a series of plaintive whistles accelerating into a trill. The call is a rather weak chip.

Similar Species:

American Tree Sparrows, irregular winter visitors to Tennessee, have a dark upper bill, a distinct reddish eye-stripe, and a spot in the middle of its chest.
Chipping Sparrows have a dark line through the eye, and a white or dusky line over the eye.
Habitat: Found year round in brushy fields and forest edges.

Diet: Insects and small seeds.

Nesting and reproduction: In Tennessee, males start singing and defending territories in late March, and egg laying begins in mid-April. Nest success is low, with young fledging from only about a third of nests. Predation by snakes is a major cause of nest loss. Pairs re-nest rapidly after the loss of a nest and may raise as many as 3 broods in one season.

Clutch Size: Ranges from 2 to 5 eggs, with 3 to 5 most common.

Incubation: The female incubates the eggs for 11 to 12 days.

Fledging: Both parents feed the young, which leave the nest in 7 or 8 days, and remain with the adults for about 3 weeks.

Nest: The female builds the open cup-nest, which is constructed almost exclusively of grasses. Nests built early in the season, before the leafing out of many trees, tend to be close to the ground. Later nests are usually located higher up in shrubs or young trees. The first nest of the season is built in 4 to 5 days, later nests take only 2 to 3 days.

[Phyl]

Field Sparrow,, continued
Status in Tennessee: The Field Sparrow is a common permanent resident across the state; numbers increase during the winter when more northerly breeding birds join the resident population. Field Sparrows are declining in Tennessee, as well as rangewide. This may be due to changes in their breeding habitat as shrubby old fields grow to forest or are cleared for agriculture or suburban growth.

Map of Field Sparrow eBird observations in Tennessee

[Phyl]

Field Sparrow,, continued
Fun Facts:

Male Field Sparrows usually return to breed in the same territory each year. The female is less likely to return to the same territory, and young sparrows, unlike many birds, only rarely return the next year to the area where they were raised.
Field Sparrows often feed directly on fallen seeds. Sometimes they fly to the top of a grass stalk, letting their weight carry the stem to the ground, and begin removing the seeds.
The male Field Sparrow starts singing as soon as he obtains a territory in spring. He sing constantly until he attracts a mate, and then only sings infrequently.
Obsolete English Names: field chipping sparrow

Best places to see in Tennessee: old fields, scrubby open lands statewide.

[Phyl]

Field Sparrow,, continued






ources:

Carey, M., D. E. Burhans and D. A. Nelson. 1994. Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), The Birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Nicholson, C. P. 1997. Atlas of Breeding Birds of Tennessee. Univ. Tennessee Press, Knoxville.
Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York, NY.

[Phyl]

Song Sparrow,
Melospiza melodia



A relative newcomer to Tennessee, the Song Sparrow started nesting in the far eastern corner of the state in the late 1800s.  Scattered populations started to appear in Middle and West Tennessee in the 1940s through the 1970s.  Currently, the Song Sparrow is a common nester only in the eastern third of Tennessee, but is found throughout the state in winter.

The species has a very wide distribution, breeding across most of North America south to northern Mexico. Song Sparrows are partially or completely migratory depending on snow cover and winter temperature; some individuals remain on or near their breeding grounds while others move farther south. The winter range extends from southern Canada to Mexico and Florida, and wintering birds arrive in Tennessee in October and depart in early April.

Description: Both male and female are brown with dark streaks above, and below are white with dark streaking that forms a dark central spot on the breast. The face pattern is brown and gray, the tail is relatively long and in flight it appears they pump it up and down.

Juveniles (April-September) are similar to adults, but have finer streaking on the face and breast. Geographically this species is very variable with larger, darker birds in the Northwest, and paler individuals in the Southwest.

Length: 6.25"
Wingspan: 8.25"
Weight: 0.7 oz

Voice: The song has three or four clear introductory notes, followed by a short variable trill, and ending in a short jumble of notes. One translation is maids maids maids put on your tea kettle ettle. The call is a nasal and hollow-sounding chimp. Songs can vary widely among individuals, but the pattern of notes is generally maintained.

Similar Species:

Fox Sparrows, uncommon migrant and winter residents in Tennessee, are larger, have heavier streaks on the breast, and are more red than brown overall.
Lincoln's Sparrow, an uncommon migrant and a rare winter resident in Tennessee, has a shorter, grayer tail, and a buff (not white) upper breast with finer streaking.
Savannah Sparrow, a fairly common migrant and winter resident in Tennessee, has a shorter, slightly notched tail, and a yellow tinge between its eyes and bill.
Vesper Sparrow has a white eye-ring and white outer tail feathers. It is an uncommon migrant, rare winter resident, and is a locally uncommon summer resident in Tennessee.

[Phyl]

Song Sparrow,, continued

Habitat: Found in a variety of open, shrubby areas, especially in thickets near streams and rivers, and in urban and suburban areas.

Diet: Seeds, fruits, invertebrates.

Nesting and reproduction: Song Sparrows are strongly territorial and the male defends his territory for more six months each year. In Tennessee, egg laying peaks in early May, and Song Sparrows regularly raise three and occasionally four broods.

Clutch Size: Usually 4 to 5 eggs. Clutches of 5 are more common early in the season.

Incubation: Females incubate the eggs for 12 to 13 days.

Fledging: Both adults feed the nestlings, which leave the nest in 10 days and become independent in 28 to 30 days. The female will leave the young in the care of the male when she begins the next nest.

Nest: The female builds the nest in 3 to 4 days. It is an open cup made of dead grass and weed stems, and lined with fine grasses. Before plants have leafed out, nests are frequently built on the ground; later it is usually placed low in shrubs.

Status in Tennessee: The Song Sparrow is common throughout the state in the winter, but breeds primarily in the eastern third of Tennessee and in scattered locations in Middle Tennessee. Wintering birds usually arrive in October and stay through early April. Song Sparrow numbers appear to be increasing everywhere in the state.

Map of Song Sparrow eBird observations in Tennessee

[Phyl]

Field Sparrow,, continued

Fun Facts:

The Song Sparrow is one of the most widespread songbirds in North America and has 24 recognized subspecies. These subspecies can look very different; birds from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska are 150% heavier than the smallest subspecies in the California salt marshes. The darkest individuals are found in the Pacific Northwest and the palest in the deserts of the Southwest.
Obsolete English Names: Townsend's finch, song finch

Best places to see in Tennessee: In summer, open grassy and shrubby fields and fencerows in eastern Tennessee.

In middle Tennessee, they are scarce, but for some reason appear to be more abundant in the vicinity of Coffee County. Common statewide in winter.






]https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/twra/images/birds/Song%20Sparrow-006.jpg

Sources:

Arcese, P., M.K. Sogge, A.B. Marr and M.A. Patten. 2002. Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), The Birds of North America, No. 704 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Nicholson, C. P. 1997. Atlas of Breeding Birds of Tennessee. Univ. Tennessee Press, Knoxville.
Robinson J. C. 1990. An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Tennessee. Univ. Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York, NY.

[Phyl]

Swamp Sparrow

Melospiza georgiana



The swamp in Swamp Sparrow pretty well describes this bird's preferred habitat. It breeds in swamps in boreal Canada and the northeastern United States.  You can find it in brushy habitats that are either wet or near water in the southeast during the winter.

It is a secretive bird that hides in dense cover and forages mostly on the ground. When flushed, it will fly low over the grass tops, rarely more than a few dozen yards, and perch on a low branch or dive back into the vegetation.

Swamp Sparrows can be found in Tennessee from late September to early in May, alone or in loose flocks with Song Sparrows.

Description: Swamps Sparrows have rusty wings, a gray chest with blurry streaks, a whitish throat and belly, and a gray face and neck.

During the breeding season they have a rusty cap, and during the non-breeding season (August-March) the cap has a gray central stripe.

Length: 5.75"
Wingspan: 7.25"
Weight: 0.6 oz

Similar Species:

White-throated Sparrows are much larger and plumper, and the white throat is more extensive, distinct, and bright. They almost always travel in flocks with other white-throats during the winter.
Lincoln's Sparrows are very similar, but have a distinct buffy beast-band with fine dark streaks.
Song Sparrows are white below with heavy streaking on the breast that forms a dark central spot and has a longer tail.
Habitat: Found in marshes and in low grassy or brushy fields, often near water.

Diet: Seeds, fruits, and aquatic invertebrates.

Nesting and reproduction: The Swamp Sparrow has never been known to nest in Tennessee.
Swamp Sparrow

[Phyl]

Swamp Sparrow continued


tatus in Tennessee: This common migrant and statewide winter resident is present in the state from late September to early May.

Map of Swamp Sparrow eBird observations in Tennessee


Fun Facts:

Swamp Sparrows are known to stick their heads completely underwater to catch aquatic insects.
The legs of a Swamp Sparrow are longer than other members of its genus, allowing it to wade in the shallow water of its swampy habitat.
Best places to see in Tennessee: Swamp Sparrows can be found across Tennessee from late September through early May in marshes and low grassy or brushy fields, often near water.

[Phyl]

Swamp Sparrow continued









Sources:

Mowbray, T.B. 1997. Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Robinson J. C. 1990. An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Tennessee. Univ. of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York, NY.

[Phyl]

White-throated Sparrow
Zonotrichia albicollis



The most abundant of Tennessee's wintering sparrows, the White-throated Sparrow arrives by early October and departs by mid-May.  It travels in flocks and can often be heard in winter singing its distinctive Oh Sweet Canada Canada Canada song.

Canada is where it breeds, from the Yukon to Newfoundland south to the northeastern United States. In the winter, it is found in the eastern half of the United States south to northern Mexico, with some birds wintering along the Pacific Coast.

Description: Adult White-throated Sparrows are brown above and gray below, with a white throat bordered in black, a black and white striped head and a yellow blotch between the eye and bill. The "tan-striped morph" and first-year birds (August-March) look similar, but with tan and brown striped heads and a duller throat. Males and females are similar in appearance.

Length: 6.75"
Wingspan: 9"
Weight: 0.91 oz

Voice: The song starts with 2 loud, clear, short whistled notes, followed by a series of triplet notes: Oh sweet Canada Canada Canada or Old Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody. The call is a distinctive lispy tseep.

Similar Species:

White-crowned Sparrows lack the distinct white throat and yellow above the eyes, and have an all-pinkish bill.
Habitat: In winter and in migration White-throated Sparrows are found in dense cover, along woodlots, in fencerows, swamps, weedy fields, parks, and in urban areas.

Diet: Seeds, fruits, and insects. White-throated Sparrows frequently visit bird feeders.

Nesting and reproduction: The White-throated Sparrow has never been known to nest in Tennessee.

[Phyl]

White-throated Sparrow, continued
Status in Tennessee: This common statewide migrant and winter resident usually arrives by early October and departs by mid-May. While still abundant, White-throated Sparrows are apparently declining over much of the breeding range.

Map of White-throated Sparrow eBird observations in Tennessee


Fun Facts:

White-throated Sparrows come in two color forms: white-striped and tan-striped. White-striped birds almost always mate with tan-striped birds, and visa versa. Interestingly, white-striped males tend to be more aggressive, and tan-striped females provide more parental care to the nestlings.
White-throated Sparrows and the Dark-eyed Juncos look nothing alike but are known to occasionally mate with one another. They produce hybrid offspring that look like grayish, dully marked White-throated Sparrows with white outer tail feathers.
Birds in cold climates have more feathers in the winter than in the summer. One study found that White-throated Sparrows have 40% more contour (body) feathers in winter; in summer, they have about 1,500 contour feathers and 2,500 in winter.
Obsolete English Names: White-throated Finch

Best places to see in Tennessee: White-throated Sparrows are found in Tennessee during the non-breeding season, arriving in early October and departing by mid-May. They can be found in every county of the state in a variety of shrubby habitats including weedy and brushy fields, brushy woodland thickets, along woodland edges, and in suburban areas with sufficient cover.