When I came home from work one day this past week, I walked into the garage and heard a faint bird call. Listening carefully, I quickly realized there was a bird somewhere inside the garage. It didn’t take long to track down the sound—a small songbird was fluttering against a window in a desperate attempt to get outside.
After a few seconds I was able to gently cup my hands around the bird, and I took it outside to my bird feeding area where I released it. It was a small chipping sparrow, weighing only about twelve grams. A chipping sparrow is one of a number of sparrow species that can be found in Yavapai County.
Sparrow species can be particularly challenging to identify. Referencing The Sibley Guide to Birds, there are forty-nine species of sparrows in North America, divided into 17 different genera. This family of birds is listed as “Sparrows and their Allies,” and includes towhees, sparrows, juncos, four species of buntings, and longspurs. It is a very diverse family.
Due to their small size, overall plainness in plumage, and secretive behavior, many new birders give up on identifying these seed-eaters. Sparrows usually don’t fly until you get close to them. When flushed, they fly up from the ground for a short distance, and settle back down, typically in a weedy patch—completely out of view. It is really difficult to sneak up on sparrows
I admit it. Sparrows can be tough. Sometimes birders use acronyms to call out sparrows such as LBB, which stands for “little brown bird,” or LBJ for “little brown job.” It is pretty easy to narrow down your identification to the sparrow family, but getting it down to the species level can be difficult.
How does one get to the point of successfully identifying the many different sparrow species? Repetition is a good start. Going birding with experienced birders can be super helpful. Using a field guide, or an app with illustrations and accompanying text, describing the bird, its behavior, and where it occurs can also be helpful.
Knowing the habitat preference for each of the different sparrow species is certainly a helpful identification tool. Habitat—where you see the bird—oftentimes helps narrow down the list of possibilities. For example, Lincoln’s, song and swamp sparrows are typically found in areas where there is water. In contrast, rufous-crowned sparrows, black-throated sparrows, and black-chinned sparrows are usually found in more arid, rocky habitats.
Some species regularly visit backyard feeders, whereas others are hard to lure to your yard. For example, both Cassin’s and Botteri’s sparrows are found in a grassland habitat, so you would probably never see one at your feeder.
In contrast, both white-crowned sparrows and chipping sparrows readily feed at backyard bird feeders, which allows for close observation. Sparrows, like other ground-feeding bird species—such as mourning doves and Gambel’s quail—like white-proso millet. Millet is an inexpensive seed ingredient available at our store that attracts a variety of wild bird species.
I personally really like sparrows. I find their plumage to be striking, not in terms of bold colorful patterns, but in the subtleness of their markings. Many sparrows have streaking on the breast, on the head, or on the back. When sparrows are observed sufficiently close, with good binoculars or a scope, they are quite impressive!
Our photo contest exhibit is now open to the public for voting. Please come and cast your vote for your favorite pictures. The pictures are displayed in our conference room, Monday through Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Until next week, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Vortex and Swarovski optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
