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Field sparrow
Spizella pusilla is more commonly known as the Field Sparrow. This is a name that fits this species well since it is mostly found in high grassy areas mostly found in fields (Fontnelle Forest). The Field Sparrow is also well known for its summer song. This song is usually sung by the males (Carey, M., D.Nelson).
The Field sparrow is five inches tall (Fontnelle Forest.). They are small and slim with short bills, rounded heads and relatively long tail feathers. These birds have orange to light brown feathers with white highlights. They also have a white ring around each eye and a pink bill (All About Birds). Field sparrows are easily identified by their brown and black backs and grayish white stomachs with orange highlights and the orange stripes on top of the head (N.p..,n.d. Web.). The bird’s wings and chest feathers are buffy (National geographic Field Sparrow Facts). Both male and female have the same color patterns (Carey, M., D.Nelson).
Field Sparrows are found in northeastern regions of the United States and in the Southeastern regions of Canada. This bird only partially migrates, some Field Sparrow stay in the same nest through the seasons and do not even migrate at all. These birds usually migrate if temperatures drops below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. When they migrate they are usually in flocks of five to fifty.
The field sparrow will mix with other sparrows when migrating in the winter. They will often give out a fighting call when trying to be pushed from the flock, causing other birds to investigate (National Geographic’s Field sparrow). The birds that do migrate, do not migrate far, usually only to the southern parts of the United States and the northern parts of Mexico. Their migration areas overlap with other field sparrows breeding areas. The reason for field sparrow migration is to seek a warmer habitat for the cold and harsh weather of their breeding territories. (Home. Royal Society, 2016. Web.).
Field sparrows are usually found in wooded areas or high grass fields or areas of high brush (Inaturalist). When not in breeding season they are very easily spooked (Cornell Ornithology All About Birds). The Field Sparrows nests are found on the ground in lines of tree. These nests can also be located in heavy shrub like areas and also in grasslands (Best, Louis B. “Territory Quality and Mating Success in the Field Sparrow). One of the very interesting aspects of this species is that their first nest of the year is on the ground, but their second nest is up in the shrubs or low trees. This is because of the lack of shrub and tree cover in the early spring. Both the nest made from a usual Field Sparrows is mostly made from dead grasses. (Carey,M.,D.Nelson).
Field Sparrow breeding season is during spring and summer. During this time the males sing loud long songs in order to attract females (All about birds). This song can be heard all summer. This song is used to attract receptive females. The male stays with one female during the breeding season.
A female Field Sparrow usually lays anywhere from three to six eggs. The eggs are whitish to pale bluish with blue spots. The female is the only one who incubates the eggs which hatch in ten to seventeen days (Audubon Field Sparrow). Their nest is usually on the tree line of wooded areas in the summer, but move to higher saplings in fall and winter. Both male and females feed the young and help collecting the food. The parents of the offspring usually return to the same breeding area each year. The offspring usually do not return to the same nesting areas from where they were born (Carey, M., D.Nelson).
Field Sparrows eat seeds from a variety of plants. They also eat grass (Cornell Ornithology All About Birds). Field sparrows forage for food on the ground or in low vegetation. When feeding on grass seeds the Field sparrow will fly and land on stem of grass pulling them to the ground to get the seed off (Audubon Field Sparrow).
Although field sparrows are known for staying on the same nest and for their intense fidelity to their eggs and nestlings, close observations of a female Field Sparrow indicted that she switched nest ten times before laying a single egg which she then eventually abandoned (Best, Louis B. “An Unusual Case of Nesting Persistence in a Female Field Sparrow.”). Parental field sparrows had specific times at which they fed their nestlings each day and also specific time times when they were not at the nest (Best, Louis B. “Patterns of Feeding Field Sparrow Young). Field sparrows prefer shrubby grasslands for nesting sites (Best, Louis B. “Territory Quality and Mating Success in the Field Sparrow) and had its best breeding success when it bred in habitats in which it was least disturbed (Mcchesney, Holly M., and James T. Anderson).
Bibliographies
Best, Louis B. “Nestling Biology of the Field Sparrow.” The Auk 94.2 (1977): 308-19. Web.
26.Sept. 2016
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4085094?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Carey, M., D.Nelson. 2008. Spizella pusilla. Birds of North America, 103: 1-20.
http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species?103.
“Ecophysiological Constraints Shape Autumn Migratory Response to Climate Change
in the North American. Field Sparrow.” Biology letters. Home. Royal Society, 2016. Web. 26
Sept. 2016.
http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/4/5/595
“Field Sparrow.”All About Birds. Cornell Ornithology Lab. N.p., n.d. Web. 26
Sept. 2016.
“Field Sparrow.” Audubon. N.p., 01 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/field-sparrow
“Field Sparrow (Common Bird Species of Richmond National Battlefield).”INaturalist.org.
N.p.,n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/490577
“Field Sparrow Facts – National Geographic.” National Geographic. National Geographic,
2006,
http://animals.nationalgeographic.
“Field Sparrow Facts – National Geographic.” National Geographic. National Geographic,
2006,
http://animals.nationalgeographic.
“Field Sparrow.” Nature Search. Fontenelle Forest, 2008. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
http://www.fnanaturesearch.org/index.php?option=com_naturesearch&task=view&id=795
Sets, By Silver Tea. “Bird of the Year.” Wake Audubon. Wake Audubon, 2014. Web. 26 Sept.
- Smith, Sherri L. Sparrow. Delacorte Press: New York, 2006.
http://wakeaudubon.org/initiatives/conservation/boty/
Scientific Bibliographies
Best, Louis B. “An Unusual Case of Nesting Persistence in a Female Field Sparrow.” The
Condor 76.3 (1974): 349. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2424609.pdf
Best, Louis B. “Patterns of Feeding Field Sparrow Young.” The Wilson Bulletin 89.4 (1977):
625-27. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4160999?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Best, Louis B. “Territory Quality and Mating Success in the Field Sparrow (Spizella
Pusilla).”The Condor 79.2 (1977): 192-204. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2424609?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Christopher W. Beck, Bryan D. Watts. “The effect of cover and food on space use by
wintering Song Sparrows and Field Sparrows”.Canadian Journal of Zoology, 1997, 75 (10),1636-1641, 10.1139/z97-790. 26 Sept. 2016.
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z97-790#.WCNV7GorLcs
David J. Hoag. “Hybridization between Clay-Colored Sparrow and Field Sparrow in
Northern Vermont.” The Wilson Bulletin 111.4 (1999): 581-84. Web. 26 Sept. 2016
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v111n04/p0581-p0584.pdf
Mcchesney, Holly M., and James T. Anderson. “Reproductive Success Of Field
Sparrows(Spizella Pusilla) In Response To Invasive Morrow’s Honeysuckle:
Does Morrow’s Honeysuckle Promote Population Sinks?.” Wilson Journal Of Ornithology 127.2(2015): 222-232. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1676/wils-127-02-222-232.1
Nicholson, Charles P. “Likely Nest Reuse by a Field Sparrow.” Journal of Field Ornithology
52.3 (1981): 235. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v052n03/p0235-p0235.pdf
Schneider, Kathryn J. “Age Determination by Skull Pneumatization in the Field Sparrow.”
Journal of Field Ornithology 52.1 (1981): 57-59. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v052n01/p0057-p0059.pdf
Strausberger, BM, and DE Burhans. “Nest Desertion by Field Sparrows and its Possible
Influence on the Evolution of Cowbird Behavior.” Auk, vol. 118, no. 3, 2001. pp.26.
Sept. 2016. 770-776. doi:10.1043/0004-8038(2001)118(0770:NDBFSA)2.0.CO;2.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4089943?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents