Field Sparrow

Field Sparrow

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

The Field Sparrow is a common, drab sparrow of brushy pastures and old fields. It has a simple, yet distinctive song of repeated clear whistled notes on one pitch that increase in rate until they make a trill.

Description

• Small sparrow.
• Dully marked.
• Unstreaked chest.
• Reddish cap.
• Gray face with thin white eyering.
• Bill pink.

• Size: 12-15 cm (5-6 in)
• Wingspan: 20 cm (8 in)
• Weight: 11-15 g (0.39-0.53 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes alike, males slightly larger.

Sound

Song a series of clear whistled notes, increasing in rate until they become a trill, much in the same pattern as a bouncing ball.

Conservation Status

Declining throughout range.

Other Names

Bruant des champs (French)
Chimbito Llanero (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Field Sparrow often feeds directly on fallen seeds. It may fly to the top of grass stalks, let its weight carry the stems to the ground, and then begin removing the seed.

• If a male Field Sparrow survives the winter, it usually returns to breed in the same territory each year. The female is less likely to return to the same territory, and young sparrows only rarely return the next year to where they were born.

• The male Field Sparrow starts singing as soon as he gets back in the spring. He sings vigorously until he finds a mate, but after that he sings only occasionally.

Sources used to construct this page:

Carey, M. D. E. Burhans, and D. A. Nelson. 1994. Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla). In The Birds of North America, No. 103 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.