Spizelloides arborea
adult
The American Tree Sparrow is well marked by sparrow standards. The sexes are similar, and the plumage is brightest in spring and summer. Adults have a rufous back with dark streaks, and rufous wings with two whitish wingbars. The head pattern comprises a gray face, a rufous crown and a rufous stripe behind the eye, and a faint dark line bordering the gray throat. The underparts are otherwise pale gray with a rufous patch on the flanks and a dark breast spot. Juveniles are similar to an adult but heavily streaked. In all birds, the bill has a dark upper mandible and yellowish lower mandible.
The American Tree Sparrow is present as a breeding species across much of northernmost North America, mainly from April to September. Birds move south in fall and the winter range extends across most of the center of the continent. Outside the breeding season the species is typically seen in flocks.
adult
FACT FILE
LENGTH 6.25 in (16 cm)
FOOD Mainly seeds, with invertebrates in spring and summer
HABITAT Tundra in summer; rough grassland in winter
STATUS Widespread and locally common
VOICE Song is a series of shrill, warbling notes, ending with a trill. Call is a thin tseink
