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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Field Sparrow

Spizella pusilla

• epic
• 72 km/h
• Least Concern

Pink bill, blank face, a song that bounces like a dropped ping-pong ball. Old pastures only.

Population

~9.3 million mature individuals (Partners in Flight, 2019 est.)

Habitat

Brushy, overgrown fields, shrubby grasslands, old pastures with scattered saplings, and roadside edges — successional habitat, not deep forest or open lawn; avoids suburban areas

Fun fact

The Field Sparrow's song is a series of clear, sweet whistles that accelerate into a rapid trill, often likened to a bouncing ping-pong ball coming to rest.

Range

Eastern and central North America: breeds across the eastern and midwestern USA and adjacent southern Canada; winters in the southeastern and south-central USA down to northeastern Mexico; vagrant records in Bermuda

Diet

Primarily insects and other arthropods in the breeding season; seeds (grass and weed seeds) make up most of the diet in fall and winter; forages on the ground or in low vegetation and visits feeders for seed

Size

0.135 m

Wingspan

0.2 m

Lifespan

11 years