Part 9

When he’s near you will hear A loud rustling sound, For he rakes as he takes Choice food from the ground.

Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus

Several kinds of sparrows can be found in open fields, along roadside fences and hedgerows, but the Vesper Sparrow is easiest to identify. If you should miss the chestnut patch on the bend of the wing or the white belly, bordered by fine lines, you still will notice the white outer-tail feathers. The back is a light grayish-brown with dark stripes.

Juncos and pipits also have white outer-tail feathers, but adult juncos show no stripes and pipits walk instead of hop. Western Vesper Sparrows show less brown in their plumage, some being almost a light gray, but still show darker lines on their backs, sides and breasts.

These birds use grass and small roots in building their nests, which usually are in or near a clump of grass. Their eggs are grayish white, heavily marked with brown.

Vesper Sparrows are good singers. Their best efforts seem to be late in the evening, when dusk replaces the fleeting shadows; their musical notes add a fitting benediction to the dying day. This chorus accounts for the name. Songs vary, but usually start with 2 pairs of long melodious notes, the second pair higher in pitch, then a series of rapid notes beginning still higher, then coming down the scale to end in a soft warble.

You might have been a junco From markings on your tail, But you prefer the prairies Where breezes never fail.

Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus

These large sparrows are easily identified. No other sparrow has a white border around the tail or the distinctive chestnut and white head pattern. Another mark is a distinct, dark spot on the breast. Clay-colored Sparrows show a similar head pattern but lighter parts are grayer and the cheek patch is duller, more brown than chestnut. The latter-named bird has no spot on the breast.

Lark Sparrows prefer open areas along country roads, old orchards or pastures with scattered trees or bushy hedges. Such habitat furnishes nesting sites and a plentiful supply of insects, small seeds and grit for their use. Altho usually a common species within its range, these birds are inclined to be erratic and might be scarce one season and abundant the next, with no apparent reason.

They nest on or near the ground but like to sing from a more elevated perch such as a fence, bush or tree. Some sing while hovering in the air. They cover a wide range but populations vary from year to year.

Their song is a series of melodious notes, varying in pitch but seeming to include a few “churrs” which are quite distinctive. Songs vary between birds, each bird giving a wide variety of notes in a short period of time.

You like the pastures With scattered trees, Where you can live A life of ease.

Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina

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.

They feed heavily on insects and larvae, including various caterpillars, beetles, ants and plant lice. Vegetable food amounts to a little more than half their diet and includes seeds from grasses and weeds. Crab grass seeds seem to be a favorite.

Western Chipping Sparrows are slightly larger and paler but show the rusty cap, black beak and other markings which are distinctive.

That chestnut cap, White line below, Black thru the eye, That’s you, we know.

White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys

White-crowned Sparrows are known only as migrants or winter residents to birders living east of the Great Plains. Westerners are more fortunate for White-crowns and the similar Gambel’s and Nuttall’s Sparrows nest in much of their area. When flushed from their feeding grounds, these birds will impress you by their alert appearance. The habit of erecting the crown feathers makes the head appear round and puffy, and brings out the beauty of the broad black and white stripes which surround the white crown.

These birds have a gray throat and breast, 2 wing bars, grayish-brown backs with darker stripes. The feet and bill are pinkish. A white line over the eye of the White-crowned Sparrow does not extend to the beak, as it does on Gambel’s and Nuttall’s. Nuttall’s Sparrow has a yellow bill.

White-throated Sparrows often are found in mixed flocks with White-crowns, but the former show a distinct white throat patch, have flatter heads, and a yellow spot between the bill and eye. The beak is dark.

White-crowned Sparrows are good singers. Their songs vary but usually start with a clear but plaintive whistle. Western varieties sing differently but have a similar quality.

When winter takes An angry mood, You visit us In search of food.

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Song Sparrows literally sang themselves into a name, for few birds sing so persistently. To Thoreau these birds seemed to say: “Maids! maids! maids! hang up your teakettle-ettle-ettle.” To you it may sound differently, but you still will hear the sharp notes with which he starts his song. These are on the same pitch with a slight pause between each note. From there, the song is variable and may contain trills or assorted notes on various pitches. One bird may produce several different songs.

These birds prefer brushy or weedy areas near water but may nest near your home if a bird bath is handy. No other bird seems to take as much pleasure from bathing.