Chipping Sparrow

About the Chipping Sparrow

A small, trim sparrow with a bright rufous cap, a clean gray face, and a sharp black line through the eye, the breeding Chipping Sparrow is one of the tidier and more approachable members of a famously tricky family. In winter the cap dulls to streaky brown and the face softens, but the neat, slim look remains.

Chipping Sparrows forage on the ground in loose flocks, picking up seeds and insects, and give a long, dry trill of a song - a mechanical rattle often heard from lawns, parks, and open woods. They are tame around people and quick to use feeders and mowed edges.

In Texas they are common in winter across much of the state, gathering in grassy openings, brushy edges, and yards; some remain to breed in the wooded hills and mountains.

A note from behind the lens: their tameness and love of open ground make them easy to work. Scatter a little seed at the edge of a clean patch of grass, settle low nearby, and wait for a crisp-capped bird to hop into good light.