Spizella passerina
(Chipping Sparrow)
Physical
Description:
5-5 3/4" (13-15 cm). Breeding
adults have distinct chestnut brown cap, white eyebrow, black stripe through
eye, gray cheek, and white throat. Winter adults and juveniles have duller streaked
crown
. All are gray below and
reddish-brown back streaked with black.
Similar Species- Clay-colored Sparrow
Song:
A
monotonous rattle.
Distribution:
Breeds
from Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia, east to Newfoundland, and south to
northern Baja California, Nicaragua, and Gulf Coast. Winters from southwestern
and central U.S., south to northern Nicaragua.
Ecology:
Builds cup-shaped nest in coniferous tree, in
vines, or occasionally on ground. Forages primarily on ground; may also take food from
foliage or shrubs.
size varies from 3-5 eggs,
but is usually 4. Incubation lasts 11-14 days. Both parents tend young, which
are altricial, and leave nest in 9-12
days. Female may produce 2 broods.
Conservation:
| Element Code: | ABPBX94020 |
| Status: | Protected nongame species |
| Global Rank: | G5 |
| State Rank: | S5,NTMB |
| National Rank: | N5B,N5N |
Important
State References:
Hejl, S.J. and R.E. Woods.
1990. Bird assemblages in old-growth and rotation-aged Douglas-fir/Ponderosa
pine stands in the northern Rocky Mountains: a preliminary assessment. Pp. 93-100
in D.M. Baumgartner and J.E. Lotan, eds., Proceedings of a Symposium on Interior
Douglas-fir: the species and its management. Feb. 27, 1990, Spokane WA.