Chipping sparrow

“ Early in May the Chipping Sparrow has already formed its nest, which it has placed indifferently in the apple or peach tree of the orchard or garden, in any evergreen bush or cedar, high or low, as it may best suit, but never on the ground. ”

“ The nest of the Chipping Sparrow is built in bushes, shrubs, trees, or in the old vines that grow about country houses. The nest is lined with long hairs. One often wonders where the bird finds so many of them. Grass and fine twigs are used for the main construction of the home.
Remarks: The little chestnut cap of the Chipping Sparrow is perhaps his most noticeable marking. By this, and by his small size, he may be readily identified. He is sometimes called the “Least” Sparrow. Like some other members of the Sparrow family, he sometimes awakes in the middle of the night and bursts into song. ”

“ Whatever the weather, Chippy returns to us about the 12th day of April, posts himself on the tip of a fir branch, like a brave little Christmas candle, and proceeds to sputter, in the same part. Of all homely sounds the monotonous trill of the Western Chipping Sparrow is the most homely,—and the most easily forgivable. As music it scarcely ranks above the rattle of castanets; but the little singer pours out his soul full earnestly, and his ardor often leads him to sustained effort thruout the sultry hours when more brilliant vocalists are sulking in the shade ”

“ The common Chipping Sparrow, so familiar to all in the eastern portion of the United States, is not only one of the most abundant, but one of the most widely distributed of our North American birds. It is found from the Atlantic to the Pacific in its two races, and breeds from Georgia to the Arctic Circle. At different seasons of the year it is found in all portions of North America to Mexico. Along the Atlantic coast it nests at least as far north as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ”

“ Injurious insects are eaten in large quantities by the Chipping Sparrows. Beetles, grasshoppers and other similar insects are the prey of this bird. Many different types of seeds constitute the rest of the diet. “Chippy” will readily accept human hospitality whenever crumbs are scattered, provided, of course, that the English Sparrow does not arrive at the feeding station first. ”

“ Few mortals are proof against the charm—when once the first half-dozen are conquered. The first three come easy. Most of us know the Crow—and the Robin—and the Bluebird—and—and—the Sparrow—until we discover that there are more than a dozen varieties of Sparrow, and perceive that this common brown bird, hopping so cheerily in and out of the bushes, may be a Song Sparrow or a Chipping Sparrow or a White-Throated or White-Crowned or any one of the dozen—or even the Cocky English Sparrow, despised by ornithologist and tyro alike. ”

“ I used to think that they were all quarreling with that one bird; but no, they follow her because they admire and like her. Some people scold a great deal about the harm that the sparrows do to the fruit and grain. But think of the many insects that these birds eat in one year! I believe they do more good than harm, don’t you?
The chipping sparrow often builds its nest in tall trees. This is the only sparrow I know of, which builds its nest up high. This bird is smaller than the English sparrow. It has a reddish-brown back and crown. Did you ever hear its funny little song? ”

“ When you are building your house everything you want to use will be close by. On the lawn you will find the soft grasses you want for the outside, and in the barnyard you can get the long horse hairs that all Chipping Sparrows think they must have for a dry, cool nest-lining. Hair-birds, you know Chippies are called, they use so much hair. ”

“ The vesper sparrow, on the other hand, shows a much lower degree of variability, the individuals rarely differing in their songs, while all the nests I have ever found of this sparrow were in open grassy fields upon the ground. The chipping or social sparrow is usually very constant in its song and its nesting-habits, and yet one season a chippy built her nest in an old robin's nest in the vines on my porch. ”

“ He is nothing of the kind. He does not love a fight. Bird to bird, there is nothing too small to whip him. I have seen a chipping sparrow, which is the least among the pasture sparrows, send the poltroon scurrying to shelter with all his feathers standing on end. A cock bluebird, fighting [Pg 179] like a gentleman, and like a gentleman fighting only when he must, will drive a half-dozen of them. The English sparrow has the true instincts of the browbeating coward, and loves to fight only when in overwhelming numbers he may attack a lone pasture bird without danger to himself. ”

“ The sparrows are comparatively small gray and brown birds with striped upper parts, lighter underneath. Birds of the ground, or not far from it, elevated perches being chosen for rest and song. Nest in low bushes or on the ground. (Chipping sparrow often selects tall trees.) Coloring adapted to grassy, dusty habitats. Males and females similar. Flight labored. About forty species of sparrows are found in the United States; of these, fourteen may be met with by a novice, and six, at least, surely will be. ”

“ This swift is normally found only east of the great plains. Small birds at about 5 inches long, they are aloft all day long, and almost always in groups. They migrate in large flocks and nest from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Watching a flock of swifts flow funnel-like into a chimney is a startling evening experience. The birds express themselves with a chatter of chipping cries, one of the easiest identifications of the species. Their only food is insects, and they are highly beneficial.
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CHIPPING SPARROW
(Spizella passerina)
This slim bird is only about 5 inches long. ”

“ Golden-crowned sparrow. Zonotrichia coronata. Accidental winter visitor; Pacific Coast species; breeds in Alaska.
558. White-throated sparrow. Zonotrichia albicollis. Rare migrant; but three records.
559a. Western tree sparrow. Spizella monticola ochracea. Common winter resident; mostly on plains and in lower mountains.
560. Chipping sparrow. Spizella socialis. Rare summer [Pg 335] resident; common in migration; goes as far west as base of the mountains.
560a. Western chipping sparrow. Spizella socialis arizonæ. Abundant summer resident; breeds from base of foothills to 10,000 feet. ”

“ Amadon and Phillips (1947:581) took two Chipping Sparrows "near Las Delicias on August 17." Dickerman saw individuals in the Sierra del Pino on May 12, 1954, and at San Marcos on May 4, 1954. Our specimens, which are typical representatives of S. p. arizonae, are pale; the ground color of their backs is grayish buff.
Spizella pallida (Swainson) .—The Clay-colored Sparrow is a migrant or winter visitant in Coahuila. Burleigh and Lowery (1942:209) saw "large flocks of sparrows, mostly of this species, ... ”

“ The high Bluffs back of the prairie are destitute of stones. On my way there I saw abundance of Gopher hills, two Geese paired, two Yellow-crowned Herons, Red-winged Starlings, Cowbirds, common Crow Blackbirds, a great number of Baltimore Orioles, a Swallow-tailed Hawk, Yellow Red-poll Warbler, Field Sparrow, and Chipping Sparrow. Sprague killed another of the beautiful Finch. Robins are very scarce, Parrakeets and Wild Turkeys plentiful. ”

“ As indicated by their name socialis, Chipping Sparrows are sociable birds not only with others of the bird tribe, but with man. In all localities that are not overrun with English Sparrows, you will find these confiding birds nesting in trees and shrubs in the yard and in vines from porches, while in orchards, nearly every tree has its tenant. ”

“ Many rare and interesting poses are faithfully shown by the camera. For instance, a pair of adult Chipping Sparrows, standing on a branch by the sides of their four young, are engaged in pulling apart a large worm that was too large to be given whole. ”

“ The tree sparrow has a parti-coloured bill, the upper-half black, the lower yellow with a black tip, while the chippy has an entirely black bill, and the field sparrow a flesh-coloured or pale-red one. Only the tree sparrow, which is larger than either of the others, although only as large as a full grown English sparrow, spends the winter in the Northern United States, and by that time his confusing relatives are too far south for comparison. ”

“ I was amused—no longer amazed—at finding the sparrows here. The seed of these birds shall possess the earth. Is there even now a spot into which the bumptious, mannerless, ubiquitous little pleb has not pushed himself? If you look for him in the rain-pipes of the Fifth Avenue mansions, he is there; if you search for him in the middle of the wide, silent salt-marsh, he is there; if you take—but it is vain to take the wings of the morning, or of anything else, in the hope of flying to a spot where the stumpy little wings of the English sparrow have not already carried him. ”

“ She watches her chances, and comes with food in their absence. The young birds are about ready to fly, and when the chippy feeds them her head fairly disappears in their capacious mouths. She jerks it back as if she were afraid of being swallowed. Then she lingers near them on the edge of the nest, and seems to admire them. When she sees the old robin coming, she spreads her wings in an attitude of defense, and then flies away. I wonder if she has had the experience of rearing a cow-bunting?" (A day later.) "The robins are out of the nest, and the little sparrow continues to feed them. ”

“ In comparison the chippie's trill sounds loud and clear and bell-like, with a distinctly melodious quality of tone. The song of the little clay-colored sparrow is also marked by a kind of drawl, giving one the impression that the bird is just a little too lazy to exert himself; yet when you get him in the field of your glass and see him throw back his head, expand his throat and chest, and open his mandibles as wide as he can, you quickly decide that he is not the apathetic creature his desultory song would lead you to infer. ”

“ Among the least conspicuous birds, sparrows are the easiest to classify for that very reason, and certain prominent features of the half dozen commonest of the tribe make their identification simple even to the merest novice. The distinguishing marks of this sparrow that haunts open, breezy pasture lands and country waysides are its bright, reddish-brown wing coverts, prominent among its dingy, pale brownish-gray feathers, and its white tail-quills, shown as the bird flies along the road ahead of you to light upon the fence-rail. ”

“ Tree sparrows, snowbirds, [138] chickadees, kinglets, crows, and jays were oftenest met with, while the shrike, myrtle warbler, purple finch, and song sparrow were represented by one individual each. My song sparrow was not seen till the 28th, after I had given him up. He did not sing (of course he scolded; the song sparrow can always do that) , but the mere sight of him was enough to suggest thoughts of springtime, especially as he happened to be in the neighborhood of some Pickering hylas, which were then in full cry for the only time during the month. ”

“ If there were such a thing as vaudeville among birds, the common sparrow would be a star imitator. He clings to the bark of trees and picks out grubs, supporting himself with his tail like a woodpecker; he launches out into the air, taking insects on the wing like a flycatcher; he clings like a chickadee to the under side of twigs, or hovers in front of a heap of insect eggs, presenting a feeble imitation of a hummingbird. These modes of feeding represent many different families of birds. ”

“ When the true flycatcher catches a fly, it is quick business. There is no strife, no pursuit,—one fell swoop, and the matter is ended. Now note that yonder little sparrow is less skilled. It is the chippy, and he finds his subsistence properly in various seeds and the larvæ of insects, though he occasionally has higher aspirations, and seeks to emulate the pewee, commencing and ending his career as a flycatcher by an awkward chase after a beetle or "miller." ”

“ In the drier parts of these lowlands, especially where stubby plum bushes and haws abound, our old friend the field sparrow meets us with the same innocent, confiding air that we remember as characteristic of him in the region of Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. He is one of the birds that we can talk about in the indicative mood without “ifs” or apologies; the good that he does in disposing of surplus insect life is not offset by tolls levied on our ripest and juiciest fruit; he never goes over to the enemy to plunder those who trust him. ”

“ Even before the starling whistles much, the sparrows begin to chirp; in the dead of winter they are silent; but so soon as the warmer winds blow, if only for a day, they begin to chirp. In January this year I used to listen to the sparrows chirping, the starlings whistling, and the chaffinches’ ‘chink, chink’ about eight o’clock, or earlier, in the morning; the first two on the roof, the latter, which is not a roof-bird, in some garden shrubs. As the spring advances, the sparrows sing—it is a short song, it is true, but still it is singing—perched at the edge of a sunny wall. ”

“ Not handsome in form, certainly not elegant, nor well proportioned—with his short squat body and stump of a tail, thick neck, large head, and immense bill, little feet, that seem meant for a Sparrow, and eyes which, although bright and sharp enough, are much too small for the head. But he is a swift flier, for all that he looks so awkward; and see! quick as light he darts down upon that heedless fish that has come too near the surface, swallows it at a gulp, and is ready for another dart before you can look round you. ”