| Small of stature and of delicate ways, the friendly little "chippy" can be recognized by its chestnut cap, white eyebrow and black eyestripe. The upperparts are brown with black stripes, while the underparts cheeks and rump are gray. Its unimpressive song, a chipping dry trill of about three seconds, resembles that of an insect.
Most people are surprised to learn that at one season or another about twenty species of sparrows can be found in the southern Ohio area. About half that number have been reported as breeding, the remainder, being northern species, spend the winter with us or pass through on migration. Only two species, the alien house sparrow and the familiar Song Sparrow, are permanent residents although a few field sparrows usually can be found wintering in secluded areas.
The Chipping Sparrow arrives with the first migrants of the season and breeds throughout the United States and Canada below the tree line and winters in Mexico and along the southern border of the United States. The breeding habitat consists of open coniferous forests, grassy woodland edges, gardens, city parks, brushy pastures, anf lawns.
Three to five pale blue eggs, lightly spotted with brown are laid in a solid cup of grass and twigs. Sometimes the Chipping Sparrow is called the "hair bird" as the nest is invariably lined with hair. The nest is placed in a shrub or a tangle of vines and is a frequent cowbird host. The female does most of the brooding while the male will sometimes bring food but will also sing to advertize for another mate during the first few days of incubation. The incubation period lasts 11-14 days with the young leaving the nest 8-12 days after hatching. The second brood tends to be smaller than the first.
The diet consists mainly of seeds gleaned from the ground, however insects make up a large portion of the diet during summer months.
The affinity of the Chipping Sparrow to the habitations of man has been noted by many authors, but Forbush put it best: 'The chipping sparrow is the little brown-capped pensioner of the dooryard and lawn, that comes around doors to glean crusts shaken from the table cloth by thrifty housewives. It is the most domestic of all the sparrows. It approaches the dwellings of man with quiet confidence and frequently builds its nest and rears its young in the clustering vines of porch or veranda, under the noses of human tenants."
Length 5-5 1/2 inches
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