Chipping Sparrow
Spizella passerina
Summary 7
The Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) is a species of American sparrow in the family Emberizidae. It is widespread, fairly tame, and common across most of its North American range.
Distribution 8
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 )
Morphology 9
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
Habitat 10
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
Migration 11
Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.
Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).
Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.
Breeding populations in Canada and the northern United States are long-distance migrants, winter south to southern Mexico. Migrations to northern part of nesting range occur in April-May (Terres 1980). Central American breeders are sedentary.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Vitaliy Khustochka, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/8289389@N04/5627717818
- (c) DickDaniels (http://carolinabirds.org/), some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Chipping_Sparrow_RWD2.jpg
- (c) http://www.naturespicsonline.com/, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Chipping_Sparrow.jpg/460px-Chipping_Sparrow.jpg
- (c) Mdf, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Spizella-passerina-015.jpg/460px-Spizella-passerina-015.jpg
- (c) Blake Matheson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3652/3549896329_0a9d120ed5.jpg
- (c) Dick Daniels (http://carolinabirds.org/), some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Chipping_Sparrow_%28Spizella_passerina%29_RWD.jpg
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spizella_passerina
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31424118
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31424120
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31424119
- (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28918888
