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James Campbell
Butler, PA, USA
This bird spent about 30 minutes eating seed shards on our balcony. At first I thought it was a song sparrow, but it has no breast streaks and no central breast black spot. Checking a couple of bird ID books I come to the conclusion that it must be a Chipping Sparrow even though Chipping Sparrows aren’t winter birds in Butler Pennsylvania. I note the plain gray breast, the brown cap, the black eye line and the black wing tips over the tail and the light colored wing bars . If anyone out there is certain of the bird’s identity, Please email me at emailjim@zoominternet.net.
Sparrows & Cardinals
Category: Sparrows & Cardinals
Chipping Sparrow Winter Vistor
I believe it is a female house sparrow.
Hi James, this looks like a Chipping Sparrow in winter plumage to us. The black streak through its eye, whitish eyebrow, and white-gray cheeks sets it apart from female House Sparrow, as well as the thinner bill. Feel free to check out this webpage to see Chipping Sparrows compared to American Tree Sparrows. Though range maps show them appearing farther north only in the breeding season, you can see by this map of reported sightings for November and December, that there are plenty of Chipping Sparrows that are seen farther north in those months.
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