- Nest:
- Of grass, in low shrubs or on ground.
- Eggs:
- 4, cloudy white, spotted and specked with brown.
- Range:
- Eastern United States and southern Canada, west to the Plains.
This is the tuneful Sparrow of fields and meadows that, rising as you approach, goes with a wavering flight to the next rift of grasses, never letting you come near it, and yet not appearing to be shy. At first you will think it a Chippy, but a glance with your field-glass will show you its reddish bill, longer tail, and red-brown upper back, and while you are considering these differences it will perhaps perch on a branch and sing (it seldom sings while flying), and then you will have been formally introduced to the Field Sparrow.
The three whistles which begin the song are very soft and sweet, having nothing sibilant about them, and the final trill dies away gradually, as if the bird was moving away as he sang. The quality of song resembles the Vesper Sparrow’s, but has less variety. I have seen Field Sparrows here as late as Thanksgiving, but the records go to prove that the general range is more southerly than the Chippy’s, and that it cannot be called common north of Massachusetts.
- Length:
- 6-6.50 inches.
- Male and Female:
- Dark bluish slate all over, except lower breast and
belly, which are grayish white and form a vest. Several outer tail feathers white, conspicuous in flying. Female, with a more rusty cast and vest less distinct. Bill flesh-white, dusky at tip.
- Song:
- A crisp call note, a simple trill, and a faint whispering warble, usually much broken, but not without sweetness. (Bicknell.) Song sometimes heard before it leaves in spring.
- Season:
- Common winter resident; late September to April.
- Breeds:
- From the higher parts of the Alleghanies and northern New York and northern New England, northward.
- Nest:
- On ground, Sparrow-like.
- Eggs:
- 4—6, White, peppered with reddish brown.
- Range:
- North America at large, but chiefly east of the Rocky Mountains; south in winter to the Gulf States.
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