Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) | Affiliated Manuscripts | Further Data

Occurrence in Amherst & Connecticut Valley, Mass.
C19

Common summer resident

April - October

C20

Common, though somewhat local, summer resident, occasional in winter

January - December

C21

April - November

Habitat
Abandoned fields and pastures grown to weeds, scattered bushes and small saplings. (National Audubon Society)
Nest Materials
Nests made on the ground or in low bushes by weaving a framework of crisscrossed grass stems, then making a cup of coarse and fine grasses lined with grass, rootlets, and hair. (Clark 1906; allaboutbirds.org)
19th-20th Century Field Notes
FIELD SPARROW . Crown and back , pale chestnut , the latter streaked ; beneath , pale ashy - white . Length , about 5 1 - 2 inches . Common summer resident . Earliest arrival , April 10th ; departs in October . Raises 2 brooils . Eggs 3 – 5 , whitish , thickly spotted with rusty brown . Nest of grass on the ground , or in low bushes . Eggs laid May - July . Feeds on seeds , insects , etc . Beneficial . A sweet singer .

—H.L. Clark, 1887

21st Century Conservation Notes

Population probably increased with clearing of forest following European settlement of North America. Today widespread and abundant, although surveys show overall decline in recent decades.*