Sparrows are some of the most challenging birds to identify.\u00a0 Many of them have muted, dark plumages, offering few obvious identification features.\u00a0 Add the secretive nature of many sparrows and clinching an identification can be tough.<\/p>\n
The different genera of sparrows usually have a distinctive shape and silhouette, allowing a birder to quickly home in on the right part of the field guide.\u00a0 Today, we\u2019ll concentrate on the genus Spizella<\/i>.\u00a0 Members of this genus are small, slim sparrows with long notched tails and a gregarious nature.<\/p>\n
The Chipping Sparrow and the American Tree Sparrow are the two most common species of the four Spizella <\/i>in our state.\u00a0 Field Sparrows are far more common in the southern third of the state but seem to be gradually expanding northward in their breeding range.\u00a0 Clay-colored Sparrows are vagrants that occur annually but uncommonly.<\/p>\n
We are about to see the changing of the Spizella<\/i> guard.\u00a0 American Tree Sparrows are winter residents in Maine, arriving from their northerly breeding grounds in late October.\u00a0 They depart in early April, northbound with nesting on their minds.\u00a0 They are replaced by Chipping Sparrows, a very common breeder throughout the state that spend their winter in the southeastern and Gulf Coast states.<\/p>\n
For a brief time in April, both species may be present at Maine.\u00a0 These two species are quite similar with the usual unstreaked breast of a Spizella<\/i> sparrow.\u00a0 Both species have a rufous cap and a strong, dark line through the eye.\u00a0 The Chipping Sparrow has a sharply defined white stripe (called the supercilium) above the eye; that area of the face is gray and less prominent in the American Tree Sparrow.\u00a0 Look for a distinctive central breast in the American Tree Sparrow, lacking in Chipping Sparrow.\u00a0 Sometimes ruffling of the breast feathers can obscure that spot, so checking out the bill will confirm an identification.\u00a0 The bill of the Chipping Sparrow is a single color (dark in adult breeding birds, pinkish in the non-breeding season) but in American Tree Sparrow is bicolored with the upper mandible being dark and the lower mandible being light.<\/p>\n
The breast of the American Tree Sparrow is buff-colored contrasting with the gray breast of a Chipping Sparrow.\u00a0 The upper parts of American Tree Sparrow is a more vibrant brown than the dull brown uppersides of the Chipping Sparrow.<\/p>\n
I hope this column will prove timely in allowing you to experience a vocal treat.\u00a0 As the American Tree Sparrows prepare to migrate, they start to sing their understated, yet glorious, song.\u00a0 It\u2019s a clear, sweet, soft warble.\u00a0 The song starts with a few clear notes and then proceeds as a mix of warbled, descending notes.\u00a0 You can hear a recording of the song here: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/bnp9z4d<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Hearing the song in Maine is a special treat because we only have a couple of weeks to hear it before the American Tree Sparrows are on their way north.\u00a0 Give a listen around your feeder during the first two weeks of April for this delightful song.<\/p>\n The common name for the American Tree Sparrow is a misnomer.\u00a0 This species mostly breeds north of the latitudinal treeline on the arctic tundra.\u00a0 Obviously no trees are available for perching and nesting there.\u00a0 The reason for the common name is that this species is superficially similar to the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (a relative of the House Sparrow), in a different family from American Tree Sparrow.<\/p>\n On the breeding grounds, males court females by singing a single song type.\u00a0 Interestingly, males in a local area may share that particular song.\u00a0 Females build a nest on the ground with no assistance from the mate.\u00a0 Four to six eggs are laid and are incubated by the female.\u00a0 The male does pitch in with the feeding of the young once they hatch.<\/p>\n [Originally published on March 31, 2013]<\/p>\n\n Sparrows are some of the most challenging birds to identify.\u00a0 Many of them have muted, dark plumages, offering few obvious identification features.\u00a0 Add the secretive nature of many sparrows and clinching an identification can be tough. The different genera of sparrows usually have a distinctive shape and silhouette, allowing a birder to quickly home in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[420],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":587,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573\/revisions\/587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}