Black-chinned Sparrow
Black-chinned Sparrow
Spizella atrogularis
At a Glance
A small, long-tailed bird of arid southwestern hills, the Black-chinned Sparrow is quite localized and sometimes overlooked. It often nests on steep hillsides covered with dense low scrub, areas that tend to be ignored by birders. In winter it may occur in small flocks, foraging inconspicuously on the ground in brushy areas, sometimes associating with Chipping or Brewer's sparrows. The black chin mentioned in the name is present only on males in breeding plumage.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
New World Sparrows, Perching Birds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Arroyos and Canyons, Desert and Arid Habitats, Forests and Woodlands, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets
Region
California, Southwest, Texas
Behavior
Direct Flight
Population
1.100.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Fall migration begins early, with many leaving their breeding grounds during August. May be a permanent resident in some areas near the Mexican border.
Description
5-5 1/2" (13-14 cm). Gray head and chest, pale bill suggest a junco, but back and wings patterned like Chipping Sparrow. Black on chin mainly on summer males. Has a relatively long tail for its small size.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Black, Brown, Gray, Pink
Wing Shape
Broad
Tail Shape
Long, Notched, Rounded, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
The beautiful song is a series of slurred notes, either swee? swee? or chew chew chew, running together into a rapid canary-like trill.
Call Pattern
Falling, Rising
Call Type
Chirp/Chip, Trill, Whistle
Habitat
Brushy mountain slopes, open chaparral, sagebrush. Found mostly in arid scrub on hillsides, from low foothills up to almost 7,000' in mountains, in chaparral and open thickets of manzanita, scrub oak, sagebrush, chamise, and other low shrubs. In winter also found locally in desert areas, mesquite thickets.
Sign up for Audubon's newsletter to learn more about birds like the Black-chinned Sparrow
Behavior
Eggs
2-4, sometimes 5. Very pale blue, often unmarked, sometimes dotted with dark brown. Incubation probably about 13 days, and may be mostly by female.
Young
Both parents bring food to the young. Age at which the young leave the nest is not well known.
Feeding Behavior
Does most of its foraging on the ground, often moving about slowly and spending much time feeding in a limited area. Also forages up in low shrubs. Except when nesting, often forages in small, loose flocks, sometimes associated with other sparrows.
Diet
Probably seeds and insects. Diet is not well known; probably eats mostly seeds in winter, many insects in summer, like related sparrows. Probably feeds its young mostly on insects.
Nesting
Often nests in small loose colonies. Male sings in spring to defend nesting territory. Nest site is close to ground (from a few inches up to 4' high) in a low shrub, often a sagebrush. Nest is a shallow open cup made of dry grass, weed stems, yucca fibers, lined with fine grass, plant fibers, sometimes feathers or animal hair.
Climate Vulnerability
Conservation Status
Fairly common in its habitat, numbers probably stable.
Climate Threats Facing the Black-chinned Sparrow
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.