Field Sparrow

The Field Sparrow is a common songbird that lives in eastern North America. They prefer breeding in brushy pastures and scrubby areas in rural areas, but they avoid the same kind of habitat in urban areas. These widespread birds have a significantly vast breeding range. These birds sing with pure tones in their songs. Unlike most other birds, these Sparrows commonly raise multiple broods. Most adults return to their nesting sites, but juveniles don’t. Although these birds are extremely common, their population seems to be steadily declining. This decline can be the result of harmful practices that are endangering their breeding habitat.

About Field Sparrows

The easiest way to recognize these birds is through their distinctive song that consists of a soft whistling. This whistling gradually accelerates toward a trill. Songs are especially important for males, which they use to advertise themselves to potential mates. These songs are taught by the parents to their younglings.

Field Sparrows are a type of bird infected with a number of ectoparasites. Like several other species of birds, Field Sparrows are parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds. The frequency of this parasitism varies as per the region they reside in. If the nest has a parasite, the female often abandons it. As a result of this parasitism, the success of their egg-laying is severely impacted.

These birds don’t adapt to human habitation, therefore the decline in their numbers is obvious. As these areas keep expanding, their dense population will keep decreasing. On the other hand, in areas where deforestation is occurring their population will keep increasing. Although these birds are not currently threatened, they might soon be as the
populations in their range keep declining. Don’t these birds seem interesting? Let’s learn a little more about them.

● Field Sparrows Photos, Color Pattern, Song
● Field Sparrows Size, Eating behavior, Habitat
● Field Sparrows Range and Migration, Nesting

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Field Sparrows Color Pattern

Field Sparrows are birds that have extremely unusual molting patterns. Juveniles have a streaked bodies.

Juveniles that have been molted 2 days after hatching are dull and a lot more streaked than the adults. Their crown and forehead are gray, and the back of their head is brown. Their napes are gray and slightly streaked. Juveniles have mostly whitish underparts but their breast and sides are a buff-tinge. These parts are more streaked than the rest of their body. These streaks might look like flecks or spots. Their plumage is mostly dull, devoid of any particularly bright colors.

In the subsequent plumage after the first juvenile plumage, these birds replace feathers from some parts of their body. After this molt, their plumage becomes slightly more colorful.

Adult Field Sparrows have buff breasts, brown upperparts, and a white belly. They also have a brown tail and whitish wing bars. Both sexes look the same in terms of their plumage and they are much brighter than the juveniles. These birds have a buff to white eye-ring, gray face, and a rusty-colored crown.

For a long period of time, it has been stated that these birds do not have an alternate molt, but this has been proven wrong. A reputed ornithologist has claimed that these birds continuously replace their feathers. This feature of these birds allows them to fight the Mallophaga infestation that plagues these birds. This infestation can be particularly
harmful as it occurs in areas that are hard for these birds to reach. Although there is some evidence of this molting, confirming the same might not be the easiest task due to the available knowledge about their plumages that opposes this.

Description And Identification

Field Sparrows are small Sparrows that belong in the family Passerallidae. These birds are mostly distinguished on the basis of their songs. Field Sparrows also have distinctive pinkish legs and bills. This unusual coloration makes it easier to distinguish these birds from other Sparrows.

Sometimes, Field Sparrows are confused with Worthen’s Sparrows, but if you look closer, there are some clear differences. The easiest way to distinguish these birds is by observing their song. Unlike the light pinkish legs Field Sparrows have, Worthen’s Sparrows have black legs. Although these birds were conspecific for some time, no hybridization has occurred between these two species.

Field Sparrows sing the songs that they learn. If these birds do not hear their primary song frequently, they will never learn it. In some cases, these birds learn the songs sung by other species of Sparrows if they do not gain enough exposure to the song of their own species.

Field Sparrow Song

Field Sparrows have a distinctive song and a number of calls that serve various purposes. The seep call consists of a single note, both sexes sing this song. This call is for when these birds are foraging or migrating in flocks. This call is repeated in 0.5-second intervals. The purpose of this call is to maintain contact with other members of the flock.

A seep call with a higher pitch is made by both sexes when they are copulating. This call might also be made when a pair is constructing their nest.

Another important call made by Field Sparrows is the Trill Call. This call is made solely by the males when they engage in territorial behavior and courtship. Right before the male perches next to the female, he makes this call which is a series of notes that occur in rapid succession. During copulation, males make this call in a higher pitch and in faster succession.

Females make a cricket call when their mates approach them with food when they are brooding. Field Sparrows make a number of other calls that are for alerting other individuals when predators are approaching.

Field Sparrows have two songs, a simple song, and a complex song. The simple song starts with long down-slurred whistles which are mostly constant in their frequency. These slow notes are followed by quick trills of much shorter notes. On average, these birds take a 16-19 seconds interval between songs. This song is mostly characteristic of male Field Sparrows who have already claimed their territory. It is an effective way of advertising their presence to potential mates.

The complex song is not very common. This song is in the reverse order of the simple song. It begins with rapid trills with shorter notes and ends with slower down-slurred whistles. This song is longer than the simple song, and while singing it, the Sparrows mostly alternate between longer and shorter notes. A lot more frequency modulation can be observed in the complex song.

Field Sparrow Size

Field Sparrows are small Sparrows. They are 5.1-6 inches long, and they have an average wingspan of 8 inches. These birds weigh around 0.44 oz. Field Sparrows display sexual dimorphism as the males are generally larger than the females.

Field Sparrow Behavior

They are very territorial during the breeding season, but they fly around in mixed flocks during winter and migration. These birds mostly fly in mixed flocks with other species of Sparrows. Although males can be aggressive while establishing territories, these birds are mostly non-aggressive.

Field Sparrows are ground foragers that spend most of their time hopping along to find insects and seeds. They often sleep in perches surrounded by woody vegetation. Most Field Sparrows don’t migrate. Sometimes, Field Sparrows also capture insects while perched on areas with a low elevation.

Male Sparrows usually appear on breeding territories 10-20 days before the females. They use this time to establish their territory and chase off rival males. These birds are primarily monogamous. Field Sparrows that breed for the first time might feed nestlings that were produced by a different male. These birds are the easiest to find during the early mornings in spring and summer. During this time, the distinctive “bouncing ball” song of the male Field Sparrow can be heard from low perches.

As mentioned before, these Sparrows usually return to the same breeding territory year after year. This behavior is more common in males. Most of the songs that the males sing are before pair formation. After successfully forming a pair, males only sing occasionally.

Males are actually quite rude and aggressive to females when they approach their breeding territory. These birds have a very strange manner of forming a pair bond. When the female arrives the male might fly at her and strike her. This strategy generally works, as the next day, this pair begins to search for a nest site.

Field Sparrow Diet

In both winter and spring, the primary source of nutrition for these birds is grass seeds. During winter, seeds comprise almost all of their diet, but as the weather warms they begin including insects into their diet.

As these small Sparrows have small beaks, they can only consume small seeds. These seeds are from grasses and plants such as foxtails, horseweeds, crabgrass, and panic grass. Their insects prey usually includes grasshoppers, cicadas, spittlebugs, snails, spiders, weevils, beetles, and butterflies. As the juveniles require more proteins than the
adults, they are fed a diet mostly consisting of insects.

Field Sparrow Habitat

Field Sparrows mostly inhabit old fields, forest edges and openings, and railroads and roadsides that are in close proximity to open fields. These birds generally stay away from human habitation. In rare cases, you can find them in nurseries, orchards, and farms.

These birds nest in fields that have recently burnt down or cultivated if there is woody vegetation. The presence of elevated perches is necessary for their breeding habitat. As the number of trees in their habitat increases, their numbers begin to decline. Hence in most areas, the populations of these birds increase for about a decade before they start declining.

Field Sparrows generally reside in similar habitats during winter. While migrating it is possible to find them in suburban yards.

Range and Migration

Field Sparrows have a very wide range. As most of these birds are not migratory, there is substantial overlap between their breeding and winter ranges. You can find these birds throughout the eastern U.S. and southern Ontario and the southernmost tip of Quebec. Their range in the U.S. begins the east of the Rockies and extends all the way to New Hampshire and Florida.

Field Sparrows are partially migratory. The migratory populations only cover short distances.

Field Sparrow Lifecycle

The breeding season for Field Sparrows is usually between April and August every year. These small Sparrows can lay as much as four clutches annually. The high number of nesting attempts is perhaps because of the high rates of nest predation faced by these Sparrows. Often, nests are deserted by the parents.

On average, female Field Sparrows lay between 2-5 eggs. The incubation process begins right before the last egg is laid. If the weather is not suitable, females might delay the incubation process. Incubation usually lasts for 11-12 days, but it might last as long as 17 days. The juveniles fledge about a week after hatching and begin flying after another week. Between the 24-36 days following hatching, juveniles become fully independent. The longest living Field Sparrow lived to the age of 8 years and 8 months.

Nesting

When Field Sparrows build their nests at the beginning of the season, they are usually on the ground. As the season, progresses and woody vegetation beings to grow, the subsequent nests are in shrubs or bushes.

Anatomy of a Field Sparrow

Field Sparrows are small birds with small beaks. These birds are a round shape and they have small tarsi.

Final Thoughts

Field Sparrows are interesting little birds that have very distinctive songs. Unlike most other birds, they are non-aggressive. These birds have always enjoyed a vast population, but they are facing a steep decline. This decline is as significant as 2% a year. To maintain the numbers of this species, woody habitats need to be conserved.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At the Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying Field Sparrows

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing Field Sparrows are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Field Sparrow Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Field Sparrow. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders For Field Sparrows

There are many types of bird feeders. Bird feeders are a great addition to your backyard. Bird feeders will increase the chances of attracting birds drastically. Both kids and adults will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. There are a wide variety of bird feeders on the market and it is important to find the best fit for you and your backyard.

Best Bird Houses For Field Sparrows

There are many types of bird houses. Building a bird house is always fun but can be frustrating. Getting a bird house for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. If you spend a little extra money on bird houses, it will be well worth every penny and they’ll look great.