Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrows are not only the friendliest, but one of the best-known American sparrows. The reason is apparent, for yards, gardens and parks furnish ideal habitat for these birds. They often nest in vines or bushes just outside your window. Nesting materials include grasses, rootlets and hairs, horsehair being used extensively, when available. Their fondness for a horsehair lining in the nest sometimes leads to casualties when either parents or young become entangled.

Chippies derive their name from their songs, a series of chip notes which they utter. This is a rapid, unmusical series of notes, all on the same pitch. They frequently join the Robins to start the day with song. Juncos and some of the warblers also use a series of chip notes in their songs, but with more variations and more musical in quality.