The request for help telling sparrows apart is difficult since there are at least 14 or 15 species of sparrows that could be seen in Wisconsin and Illinois. And the bird we call house sparrow or English sparrow is a finch, not a sparrow.

Our reader is trying to determine whether the sparrows at her place are field sparrows or chipping sparrows.

The habitat is a help in determining which sparrows would most likely be found in a particular place. Is it a tall grass area, pasture, wetland, wooded, field, or lawn?

I don’t know whether our reader lives in a rural area, or in town. Chipping sparrows are probably the most commonly seen sparrow near homes in our area. They are friendly little birds that nest near houses in trees (often conifers), shrubs, vines. The nest is usually quite low. In my yard they have nested in low pine shrubs, young spruce trees, climbing roses, clematis vines, wild cucumber vines, grapes on an arbor—just about anywhere they can hide their little nest. The nests are very often preyed upon by cats and raccoons that eat both eggs and birds. Cowbirds often parasitizes chippy nests with eggs deposited for them to incubate and raise. Chipping sparrows are known for lining their nests with fine hair.

In contrast field sparrow habitat is brushy pastures, meadows, woodland edges, abandoned hayfields and briar thickets. Unlike chipping and song sparrows the field sparrow rarely nests near homes. The male is very territorial, claiming two or three acres. Like the chippy, field sparrows’ nests are low with the first often on the ground, second is three or four feet in low, thick shrubs or trees. Both species nest two or three times a season.

Songs and calls of the two species differ. The chipping sparrow’s song is rapid chips while the field sparrow’s song is a series of slurred whistles in increasing tempo. Another song description says the field sparrow song accelerates to a trill at the end.

Appearance of sparrows can be tricky. We need to look for specific markings. Many sparrows look much alike until they can be viewed at close range or using binoculars. And birds’ appearance also changes at different times of the year.

The chipping sparrow has a black bill and very white eye stripe that separates adults in spring from other rusty-capped sparrows. Immatures and winter adults with lighter bills and dull streaked crowns, are told by contrast between gray rump and brown back.

The field sparrow is told by its pinkish bill and legs, unstreaked crown and lack of a dark eye line.

SPARROW MIGRATION

Both chipping and field sparrows migrate out of our area in winter. The chippy moves farther south than does the field sparrow. Some sparrow species are seen only when they migrate through our area, sometimes spending a few days before moving on.

From September 15th through 25th we can expect sparrows moving through. White-throated usually scratch through the leaves under shrubbery in my yard. Swamp, song and Lincoln sparrows are on the move at this time of year also. During migration we see birds in habitat other than their favorite hangout. It is possible at times to see swamp sparrows on a hill top but a swampy thicket would more likely be their preferred place. Birds are more difficult to identify in fall than in spring since immatures are marked differently than adults, and in some species the adult males are feathered quite different from springtime.

VINEGAR HERBICIDE

It is probably too late for this season, but I will pass on information included in the fall issue of the Prairie Promoter quarterly publication of the Prairie Enthusiasts on vinegar as a weed spray.

Reportedly federal re- searchers say vinegar can be used as a weed killer. When applied to the weed foliage, the acid in the vinegar acts as a contact herbicide that kills the plants but does not persist in the soil or cause water or other pollution. A 5% concentration such as found in household vinegar is effective on young weeds such as common lamb’s quarters, giant foxtail, pigweed and Canada thistle. Older plants require a stronger solution. This may be something worth following up on.

More information is available on USDA’s research service on-line: http://www.barc.usda.gov/anri/sasl/sasl.html.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: