Species guide
Chipping Sparrow: how to recognise it
A bird of North America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Weston Barker · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Spizella passerina
- Family
- New World Sparrows
- Size
- About 12–14 cm
- Habitat
- Open woods, lawns and parks
- Found in
- North America
The key marks
A small sparrow with a bright rusty cap, a white eyebrow, a black eye line and a plain grey chest.
Voice
A long, dry, mechanical trill on one pitch.
Good to know
It lines its nest with fine hair, once horsehair, which gave it the old name “hair bird”.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in open woods, lawns and parks. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.