Size:

Length:  5.75 in

ID:

Male:  feet anisodactylous (three toes point forward and one toe points backward)
Female: Same as male
Juvenile: Buff underside with heavy streaking; buffy wing bars

Habitat:

Weedy, brushy fields, open woodlands, and wet, shrubby areas

Diet:

Forages on ground; insects (tent caterpillars, flies, spiders, beetles and ants) in summer; seeds from grass and weeds in cooler weather; takes suet, peanut butter, millet and cracked corn from feeders

Family Behavior:

Mating Habits:  Monogamous and solitary; 1-3 broods per year

Local Breeding Period: Early May
Nests: Cup shaped; built by female; loosely woven and course outside; inside tightly woven grass, mammal hair and feathers (inside about 2 inches wide); placed in crotch of tree, shrubs or vines or on ground
Eggs:  3-7 pale greenish blue with dark brown dots and blotches; female incubates 10-17 days
Nestlings: Born altricial (helpless, naked, eyes closed) and stay in nest 7-8 days; fed by both parents

Fledglings: 3 to 4 weeks fed by both parents; 5 days later will fly and follow parents

Social Activities:

Commonly flock with chipping sparrows

Range:

Summers in southeast Canada and most of US east of the Rockies; winters in northeast Mexico and Florida; year-round south of New York and across the mid west to winter range.

Vocalization:

Sweet, slurred whistles either ascending or descending  while increasing in speed; call is a chip sound. Each male has own and consistent song that is sung all day and sometimes at night.