American Tree Sparrow

Spizella arboreaOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Codes: Common Name: ATSP Scientific Name: SPIARB ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179432

Breeding Location:

Forest edge, Grassland with scattered trees, Bushes, shrubs, and thickets, Marshes

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Fairly common

Egg Color:

Light blue or green with brown spots and flecks

Number of Eggs:

3 - 7

Incubation Days:

12 - 13

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Stems, bark pieces, moss and grass., Lined with feathers, fur, and hair.

Migration:

Migratory

General

American Tree Sparrow: Medium-sized, gray-brown sparrow with black and rufous-brown streaks on back and wings. Crown, eyestripes, and flanks are rufous-brown, contrasting with gray face. Breast is pale gray with dark central spot and rufous-brown sides. Upper mandible is dark gray and lower mandible is yellow. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is duller. Juvenile shows less rufous-brown and has a messy, streaked appearance on head and breast.

Range and Habitat

American Tree Sparrow: More common in the western U.S. Preferred habitat includes moist deciduous woodlands and willow thickets along streams.

Breeding and Nesting

American Tree Sparrow: Three to seven light blue or green eggs with brown spots and flecks are laid in a nest made of stems, bark pieces, moss, and grass, with lining of feathers, fur, and hair. Nest is normally built atop a clump of grass or moss, rarely low in a shrub or tree, 1 to 5 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

American Tree Sparrow: Eats mostly seeds during winter; also eats insects, berries, and small flowers in the summer; scratches on the ground, foliage, or snow when foraging.

Readily Eats

Sunflower Seed

Vocalization

American Tree Sparrow: Song is a series of clear introductory notes followed by a variably trilled melody. Call is "tweedle-eet, tweedle-eet."

Similar Species

American Tree Sparrow: Field Sparrow is smaller, has pink bill, and lacks central breast spot.

Percevia^® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Percevia field guides, database and search protocol patent pending.

The best bird guide and bird watching search engine to identify birds!

Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

American Tree Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow: Medium, gray-brown sparrow, black and rufous-brown streaks on back, wings. Crown, eyestripes, flanks are rufous-brown, contrasting with gray face. Pale gray breast with dark central spot, rufous-brown sides. Upper mandible is dark gray, lower mandible is yellow.

● Song: "tweedle-eet, tweedle-eet"

● Foraging & Feeding: American Tree Sparrow: Eats mostly seeds during winter; also eats insects, berries, and small flowers in the summer; scratches on the ground, foliage, or snow when foraging.

● Breeding & nesting: American Tree Sparrow: Three to seven light blue or green eggs with brown spots and flecks are laid in a nest made of stems, bark pieces, moss, and grass, with lining of feathers, fur, and hair. Nest is normally built atop a clump of grass or moss, rarely low in a shrub or tree, 1 to 5 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: American Tree Sparrow: Field Sparrow is smaller, has pink bill, and lacks central breast spot.

Flight Pattern

Short flights with series of rapid wing beats alternating with wings pulled to sides.

● Range & Habitat: American Tree Sparrow: More common in the western U.S. Preferred habitat includes moist deciduous woodlands and willow thickets along streams.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.7 Ounces

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

Lower mandible

The lower part of the bill.

Upper mandible

The upper part of the bill.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America