Brown, Olive or Grayish Brown, and Brown and Gray Sparrowy Birds 
mons to investigate the character of the alleged pest has yet to 
learn whether the sparrow’s services as an insect-destroyer do 
not outweigh the injury it does to fruit and grain. 
Field Sparrow 
(Spizella pusilla) Finch family 
Called also: FIELD BUNTING; WOOD SPARROW; BUSH 
SPARROW 
Length—s.5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the English 
sparrow. 
Male—Chestnut crown. Upper back bright chestnut, finely 
streaked with black and ashy brown. Lower back more 
grayish. Whitish wing-bars. Cheeks, line over the eye, 
throat, pale brownish drab. Tail long. Underneath grayish 
white, tinged with palest buff on breast and sides. Bill 
reddish. 
Female—Paler; the crown edged with grayish. 
Range—North America, from British provinces to the Gulf, and 
westward to the plains. Winters from Illinois and Virginia 
southward. 
Migrations—April. November. Common summer resident. 
Simply because both birds have chestnut crowns, the field 
sparrow is often mistaken for the dapper, sociable chippy; and, 
no doubt because it loves such heathery, grassy pastures as are 
dear to the vesper Sparrow, and has bay wings and a sweet 
song, these two cousins also are often confused. The field spar- 
row has a more reddish-brown upper back than any of its small 
relatives; the absence of streaks on its breast and of the white 
tail quills so conspicuous in the vesper sparrow’s flight, sufficiently 
differentiate the two birds, while the red bill of the field sparrow 
is a positive mark of identification. 
This bird of humble nature, that makes the scrubby pastures 
and uplands tuneful from early morning until after sunset, flies 
away with exasperating shyness as you approach. Alighting on 
a convenient branch, he lures you on with his clear, sweet song. 
Follow him, and he only hops about from bush to bush, farther 
and farther away, singing as he goes a variety of strains, which 
is one of the bird’s peculiarities. The song not only varies in 
individuals, but in different localiiies, which may be one reason 
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