Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)

Chipping Sparrow [ventral view of winter-plumaged individual]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Russell County, Kentucky; 15 December 2013.

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Abundance: Common during spring, summer, and fall; Very Uncommon to Uncommon during winter; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional breeding population trend is probably stable, while the wintering population appears to be increasing (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (8 June 1938; Rocky Branch, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph [lateral view of breeding-plumaged adult] (Winston A. Walden; West Oak Dr., Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee; 6 April 2012); photograph (see above).

Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 270 (14 May 2005; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 222 (4 October 2008; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); CBC/CBB High Count: 143 (21 December 2004; White County, Tennessee [CBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 65 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 116 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to YardWatch frequency classifications of Common and Fairly Common, respectively; the former YardWatch frequency classification is consistent with the overall Regional abundance classification, while the latter is somewhat inconsistent with that classification.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: The wintering population of Chippies in the Region has slowly increased from being Rare during the early 1990s to being Uncommon during most winters of the late 2000s; this change in wintering abundance is perhaps a response to climate change.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited