Guide to North American Birds

One of the most widespread and abundant songbirds in the world today, the House Sparrow has a simple success formula: it associates with humans. Native to Eurasia and northern Africa, it has succeeded in urban and farming areas all over the world -- including North America, where it was first released at New York in 1851. Tough, adaptable, aggressive, it survives on city sidewalks where few birds can make a living; in rural areas, it may evict native birds from their nests.

Very widespread in North America, this melodious sparrow is among the most familiar birds in some areas, such as the Northeast and Midwest. At times it is rather skulking in behavior, hiding in the thickets, seen only when it flies from bush to bush with a typical pumping motion of its tail. Usually, however, sheer numbers make it conspicuous. Song Sparrows vary in appearance over their wide range, from large dark birds on the Aleutians to small pale ones in the desert Southwest.

In most parts of the West, the smartly patterned White-crowned Sparrow is very common at one season or another: summering in the mountains and the north, wintering in the southwestern lowlands, present all year along the coast. Winter birds usually live in flocks, rummaging on the ground near brushy thickets, perching in the tops of bushes when a birder approaches too closely. In the East, the White-crowned Sparrow is generally an uncommon migrant or wintering bird. Different populations of White-crowned Sparrows often have local 'dialects' in their songs, and these have been intensively studied by scientists in some regions.

Common over much of the continent is the little Chipping Sparrow. Originally a bird of open pine woods and edges, it has adapted well to altered landscapes. It now nests in gardens and parks in many areas, its tame behavior making it well-known and popular. Evidently it was even more common in towns in the 19th century; but then the House Sparrow, introduced from Europe, took over its place as our number one city 'sparrow.'

A common winter bird of eastern woodlots, shuffling about on the ground in loose flocks, often coming to bird feeders that are placed close enough to the shelter of thickets. It is also widespread in the West in winter, but in much smaller numbers. In summer, White-throated Sparrows sing their clear whistles in northern forests. Adults may have head stripes of either white or tan, and scientists have found some odd differences in behavior between these two color morphs.

This sparrow nests and winters farther north than any of its close relatives. Despite the name, it is not particularly associated with trees, and many of its nesting areas are on the tundra north of treeline. In winter in the northern states, flocks of Tree Sparrows are common in open country. They often come to bird feeders with Dark-eyed Juncos and other birds. Males may begin singing their musical songs in late winter, before they start their northward migration.

This big chunky sparrow nests in the far north and in western mountains, and many birders know it only as a migrant or winter visitor. It is usually found on the ground under dense thickets, scratching busily in the leaf-litter with both feet. On its breeding grounds, it gives a beautifully clear whistled song. The bird's name refers to the bright foxy-red color of the most eastern and northern populations, but many Fox Sparrows in the West are predominantly gray or sooty brown.

A small, streaky bird of open fields, the Savannah Sparrow often causes confusion for birders because it is so variable. Some of its well-marked local forms, such as the pale 'Ipswich' Sparrow of Atlantic beaches and the blackish 'Belding's' Sparrow of western salt marshes, were once regarded as separate species. Unlike many grassland sparrows, Savannahs are not particularly shy; they often perch up on weeds or fence wires, and their small winter flocks usually can be observed with ease.