American Tree Sparrow in Winter #1
by J McCombie
Title
American Tree Sparrow in Winter #1
Artist
J McCombie
Medium
Photograph - Untouched
Description
This piece has been featured in the FAA Groups: "Wild Birds Of The World - A Nature Photography Group", "FAA Portraits", "Images That Excite You", and "Macro Marvels".
The American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea), formerly known as the Winter Sparrow, is a medium-sized sparrow.
Plump and long-tailed, American Tree Sparrows are busy visitors in winter backyards and weedy, snow-covered fields across southern Canada and the northern United States. Hopping up at bent weeds or even beating their wings to dislodge seeds from grass heads, they scratch and peck the ground in small flocks, trading soft, musical twitters. Come snowmelt, these small rusty-capped and smooth-breasted sparrows begin their long migrations to breeding grounds in the tundra of the far North.
American Tree Sparrows are small, round-headed birds that often fluff out their feathers, making their plump bodies look even chubbier. Among sparrows, they have fairly small bills and long, thin tails.
A rusty cap and rusty (not black) eyeline on a gray head, a streaked brown back, and a smooth gray to buff breast in both male and female American Tree Sparrows give an overall impression of reddish-brown and gray. A dark smudge in the center of the unstreaked breast is common.
Small flocks of American Tree Sparrows hop about on the ground, scrabbling for grass and weed seeds, calling back and forth with a soft, musical twitter. Individuals may perch in the open atop goldenrod stalks or shrubs, or on low tree branches.
Look for small flocks of American Tree Sparrows in winter in weedy fields with hedgerows or shrubs, along forest edges, or near marshes. They readily visit backyards, especially if there's a seed feeder and are commonly seen with Dark-eyed Juncos. American Tree Sparrows breed in the far north and are rarely seen south of northern Canada in summer.
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February 23rd, 2021
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Dawn Currie
Congratulations! This fine image of an identified wild bird is now featured on the homepage of Wild Birds Of The World - A Nature Photography Group. Please take a moment to add it to the 2021 Features Archive and Thanks discussion for additional visibility.
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