This is Brodie with Illinois Extension and I’m here with a new “voice of the wild”

A handsome little sparrow with a rusty cap and a dark eyeline. They’re found just about everywhere that humans have mowed an expanse of grass between a few healthy trees, suburbs…parks and orchards are favorites, but especially those with a few conifers spread throughout. You can find them starting fairly early in the spring and they’ll sing their mechanical trill throughout the length of spring and summer. This is the chipping sparrow.

It’s said that the chipping sparrow was the quintessential urban sparrow in North America until the larger house sparrow, introduced in the late 1800’s, pushed them to the margins. Even so, the chipping sparrow remains very common. Their song is sometimes compared to a sewing machine, consistent, dry, and mechanical. On our next playthrough listen for how the chipping sparrow retains that consistency through a modest range different speeds.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sound. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW