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American Tree Sparrow

Status Fairly common transient, uncommon in winter. It generally arrives rather late among fall migrants and transients (average 12 October, earliest 24 September). During winter the American Tree Sparrow is a bird of weed-grown fields, wastelands and roadside thickets and is seldom seen in heavily wooded areas. There may be decided movements of birds in late March and early April, and latest sightings are normally in May (average 7 May, latest 26 May). Two at Gardiner Mines, Cape Breton County, on 10 June 1974 were very late.

Description Length: 15-16.5 cm. Adults: Crown rufous; nape bluish gray; back rich rufous, striped with black and light gray; wings show two white bars; throat and breast light dove-gray, with an indistinct, but sometimes quite distinct, black dot in centre of breast; sides washed with light or cinnamon-brown.

Range Breeds from northern Alaska, Mackenzie Delta, central Keewatin and northern Quebec, south to central Quebec, northern Manitoba and northern British Columbia. Winters from British Columbia, southern Ontario, and the Maritimes, south to the southern United States.

Remarks It is usually seen flitting among thickets along the highway or busily engaged in gleaning seeds from the taller weeds not yet covered by snow. Sometimes it will be found at feeding stations. Dark-eyed Juncos seem to be its favourite traveling companions.

It can be best distinguished by its bright chestnut crown patch, its two conspicuous white wing bars and the small black dot on its otherwise unmarked gray-white breast. In general appearance it resembles our common Chipping Sparrow of summer, to which species it is closely related, but the American Tree Sparrow is slightly larger and its markings are definitely brighter and more contrasting, and the Chipping Sparrow lacks the black dot on its breast.