Field Sparrow

Field Sparrow

Spizella pusilla
(Emberizidae)

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5.75 inches long. The Field Sparrow has a pink bill and legs, a white eye ring and a slim forked tail. The back is rusty with dark streaks. The wings are brown with white wing bars. The breast is buffy. The belly and undertail are white. The face is a plain gray in the summer and buff in the winter. The crown is rusty. There is also a rusty eyeline behind the eye. The rufous variant has much more rufous in the face and undersides.

 

The Field Sparrow is a somewhat common summer resident and breeder. It can arrive as early as mid March and may be seen through late October to early November.

 

The Field Sparrow is well named since it prefers grassy fields, brushy pastures, and open woodlands. The nest is composed of grasses and are located near the ground in early spring but later are built in small saplings and shrubs as ground cover increases in height. It is tame and curious and will respond to pishing. It sings all summer with its accelerating “teew, teew, tew, tew, tewtewtewtewtetetetetetititititititi”.

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