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Chipping Sparrow

Status Common in summer, very rare in winter. Breeds. Spring birds normally arrive in late April or early May (average 3 May, earliest 20 April). Individuals appearing between 30 March and 11 April during four years since 1972 may have wintered in the region. It is found throughout the province in summer but is less common on Cape Breton Island and along the Eastern and Southwestern shores. In autumn it is sometimes abundant in coastal localities and on our islands, with large movements noted in late September and in October. Last sightings are generally in November, but small numbers routinely attempt to winter. For example, Austin L. Rand took a specimen at Wolfville on 19 January 1925, and there have been three January reports and one February report of one or two birds each since 1970.

Description Length: 12.5-14.5 cm. Adults: Crown chestnut; conspicuous white line over eye, margined by black line that runs through eye; cheek and rump grayish blue; back light brown, streaked with black; wings light brown, shading to gray on primaries, and with indistinct white bars; underparts grayish white, lighter on throat and belly.

Breeding Nest: Composed of fine twigs and grass stems, and usually lined with horse hair but sometimes with rootlets only. It is usually saddled on the low limb of a deciduous or an evergreen tree, without apparent preference; quite often the site chosen will be a climbing rose or other vine growing in dooryards. It occurs most commonly in agricultural areas; in the Annapolis Valley, apple trees in orchards are highly favoured nest sites. Eggs: 4; blue, with dark brown or black markings around the larger end in the form of a wreath. Nest construction begins about mid-May and continues throughout the month; a bird was seen carrying nesting material on 28 May 1951. Of many nests examined at North Aylesford, Kings County, only one was placed on the ground: it was a normal-looking nest which contained the usual four eggs; in spite of its vulnerable position, the young left it successfully.

Range Breeds from the southern Yukon, the southeastern Mackenzie Valley, central Ontario, southern Quebec and southern Newfoundland, south to Georgia, Mississippi and Central America. Winters from the central United States southward.

Remarks This gentle, friendly little bird is most frequently found in close association with humans. It is tame and the location of its nest site often proclaims its trustfulness. One built its nest in a climbing rose on a trellis by a front door in Wolfville where many persons passed daily within a metre, but the parent birds showed no alarm. Usually the nest is well built, but an exception was noted in early June 1956. The nest was discovered while still being constructed. A day or two later, when still obviously unfinished, the female laid an egg, and construction then ended. On the day following the laying of the fourth egg, all the eggs fell to the ground through a gaping hole in the bottom of the loosely constructed nest.

Beginners may have difficulty identifying juvenile birds, which are extensively streaked below and lack any hint of the reddish caps of the adults (for distinctions, see Remarks under the American Tree Sparrow).