Where’s Wildlife · Bird Field Guide
Chipping Sparrow
Spizella passerina
Pronounced (approx.): spy-ZEL-uh pass-er-EYE-nuh
A small sparrow often seen feeding on the ground in open, grassy places.
Three Identification Clues
Breeding adults have a rusty cap, pale eyebrow, and black eye line.
Plain grayish underparts contrast with a brown-streaked back.
Nonbreeding birds are browner; juveniles can be streaked below, so compare several features.
Field Photographs
Showing 3 of 3 photographs.
Beyond the first impression
Plumage & Identification
More than a rusty cap
On a breeding adult, match the chestnut crown with a dark line through the eye, pale face, and unstreaked gray underparts. The slim body and relatively small bill are useful shape clues. Compare the complete face and bill with our American Tree Sparrow guide, rather than identifying either bird from its cap alone. [1]
Recognizing less tidy plumages
Winter adults have subdued brown head markings, but the eye line remains useful. Juveniles can show a streaked breast and crown unlike the clean-looking adult. A pinkish bill also occurs outside breeding plumage, so bill color should not outweigh the rest of the pattern. [1]
Life history
How This Bird Lives
Where to look
Check grassy openings with nearby trees. In spring, follow a long, dry trill to an exposed treetop; in autumn and winter, scan loose feeding flocks on the ground. Looking at both levels is more useful than searching only dense brush. [3]
Food & foraging
Seeds of grasses and other low plants form much of the diet. Insects become important during breeding, and small fruits are sometimes eaten too. After nesting, these sparrows often gather into groups rather than maintaining the same solitary territorial routine. [2]
A concealed, lightly built cup
The female usually selects a site 3–10 feet above ground, often near a branch tip within evergreen foliage. She builds with dried grasses and rootlets and adds a lining of hair and fine fibers. The male guards her but does not help construct the nest. [2]
A clutch contains 2–7 eggs. Incubation lasts about 10–15 days, followed by roughly 9–12 days in the nest. Please give nesting shrubs room rather than parting their branches to look inside. [2]
Did you know?
A Closer Look at Chipping Sparrows
A nest you can see through
The cup can be so loosely woven that light passes through its walls. A nest does not need to resemble a solid basket to be a functioning bird home. [3]
Summer sightings can mislead
Western birds may move to new feeding areas after breeding to molt. Finding a flock in open grassland or alpine habitat does not by itself show that they nested there. [3]
Occasional unconventional addresses
Most nests are in vegetation, but records include hanging baskets and sheltered equipment. These exceptions show why a nest location should be considered alongside the bird, rather than treated as an absolute rule. [3]
Sources: [1] Cornell · Identification [2] Cornell · Life history [3] Cornell · Species overview
Range & Sightings
Recorded Observations
Explore sightings on iNaturalist. Observation records are not a complete range map.
Keep Learning
Compare several photographs, then listen to recordings to connect appearance with voice.