While in their winter habitat, Chipping Sparrows are non-stop eating machines. Each one must consume over two pounds of seeds through the course of the winter to survive. With an average body weight of only 13 grams, this means that Chipping Sparrows consume over 70 times their own weight in seeds each winter.
Looking good! Most birds molt all of their body feathers once or twice a year, the Chipping Sparrow follows the same schedule except that it may also replace the feathers on its face and throat up to six times a year.
Summer Chipping Sparrows (up north) look clean and crisp, with frosty underparts, pale face, black line through the eye, topped off with a bright rusty crown. In winter (in our area), Chipping Sparrows are subdued, buff brown, with darkly streaked upperparts. The black line through the eye is still visible, and the cap is a warm but more subdued reddish brown.
The Chipping Sparrow is a slender, fairly long-tailed sparrow with a medium-sized bill that is a bit small for a sparrow. Learning the shape of this classic Spizella sparrow is a key step in mastering sparrow identification.
Chipping Sparrows feed on the ground, take cover in shrubs, and sing from the tops of small trees (often evergreens). You’ll often see loose groups of them flitting up from open ground. When singing, they cling to high outer limbs. On the ground they hop or run through grasses searching for seeds.
They love our white proso millet, sunflower chips, and Bark Butter Bits!
While in their winter habitat, Chipping Sparrows are non-stop eating machines. Each one must consume over two pounds of seeds through the course of the winter to survive. With an average body weight of only 13 grams, this means that Chipping Sparrows consume over 70 times their own weight in seeds each winter.