THE CHIPPING SPARROW 



Finch Family — Fringillidce 



Length: A little over 5 inches; the smallest of our common 

 sparrows. 



Male and Female: Crown reddish-brown, bill black; a black 

 line extending through the eye; a gray line above 

 the eye; back, wings, and tail brown; tail forked; 

 rump gray; breast pale gray without streaks or spots. 

 In the fall, the reddish crown becomes brown, 

 streaked with black. 



Call-note : Chip-chip. 



Song: A monotonous trill. Chippy-chip py-chip py-chippy- 

 chippy-chippy-chippy, more like the metallic sound 

 made by a locust than the song of a bird. 



Habitat : A "doorstep" bird that loves to spend the spring and 

 summer near man. It is found in gardens, orchards, 

 and plowed fields. 



Nest: An unusually dainty nest made of grass and fine root- 

 fibers, lined with horsehair, which has given to the 

 chipping sparrow the name of "hair-bird." The 

 nest is built in trees or low bushes, sometimes very 

 near the ground. 



Eggs: Four or five pale-green eggs, mottled with dark mark- 

 ings. 



Range: North America, from central Canada to Central Amer- 

 ica; commonest in the east. 



THIS gentle, trustful sparrow is a general favorite. 

 He is an unobtrusive little bird, seemingly con- 

 tented to occupy his place in the world near to the haunts 

 of man, unconsciously doing his important work without 



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