Chipping Sparrow

Photo © by Danielbirdwatcher
Summerville, South Carolina, USA, 29 December 2020

Spizella passerina

Identification

Breeding plumage
Photo © by Glen Tepke
Mount Auburn Cemetery, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA, May 2004

12–14 cm (5.5 ins)
In breeding plumage quite unique with a solid chestnut cap and black stripe through the eye, with the rest of the sides of the head and undersides an unmarked gray.

In juvenile plumage it has finely streaked underparts, and usually lacks the chestnut crown of an adult.

Distribution

Chipping sparrow is distributed from Alaska to eastern Canada through the USA and Mexico to Nicaragua.

Juvenile
Photo © by Robert S
Torrington, Connecticut, USA, 29th May 2006

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Five subspecies are recognized^[1]:

• S. p. arizonae:

• South-eastern Alaska and western Yukon to northern Baja, north-western Mexico; winters to Oaxaca

• S. p. passerina:

• South-eastern Canada to southern Texas and South Carolina; winters to north-eastern Mexico

• S. p. atremaeus:

• Mexico (Sierra Madre Occidental to pine belt of Nuevo León)

• S. p. mexicana:

• Highlands of western Mexico (Nayarit) to north-western Guatemala

• S. p. pinetorum:

• Pine forests of northern Guatemala (Petén) to north-eastern Nicaragua

Photo © by mali
Reading, Pennsylvania, USA, Summer 2014

Some authorities additionally recognize boreophilae.

Habitat

Woodlands, farmlands, urban districts and suburbs.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes seeds, insects and small fruits.

Breeding

It weaves a cup nest from grass and roots. The clutch consists of 2-7 pale blue eggs with dark blotches which are incubated for 10-15 days.

Vocalisation

Listen in an external program
Recording by eiguoc, Scarborough, Ontario

Winter Plumage
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Lick Creek Park, southeast College Station, Brazos County, Texas, USA, January-2019

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. All About Birds

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Chipping Sparrow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 21 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chipping_Sparrow

External Links

Search for photos of Chipping Sparrow in the gallery

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