Fifty Birds of Town and City
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
The Chipping Sparrow is a slim bird only about 5 inches long. You can spot it by
a chestnut brown crown, black line through the eye, and black bill. Chipping Sparrows nest
throughout the United States; chippies even breed as far south as Nicaragua and as far north
as southern Canada, and Chipping Sparrows winter in the southern United States and Mexico.
Chipping sparrows are domestic birds that show little fear of humans.
They often build nests in gardens, cemeteries or golf courses, where mowed lawns
provide feeding areas. Among the most insectivorous of all sparrows, their diet
consists mainly of insects, supplemented by weed seeds.
Adjectives are dangerous in describing wildlife, but the Chipping Sparrow (chippies) are
just plain lovable.
Visit our Yankee Gardener Bird Lover's Paradise for a comprehensive section of bird houses, feeders, bird books and resources.
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