One of the hardiest sparrows, this is the only one likely to winter in much of the far northern United States and southern Canada, where the dark-eyed junco can also be found. At that season it is ...

As I write this column I am looking out my office window at a world that is enduring its first winter storm of the season. Back in October, we saw the first flakes of snow, but that wasn’t really ...

MOST WINTERS, a few sparrows visit my yard, feeding on the seeds I scatter on the ground near my bird feeder. These particular sparrows have long tails, rusty crowns and eye-lines on their gray heads, ...

The American tree sparrow is brownish above and paler below. The chest is unstreaked but features an important diagnostic feature, a distinct black central spot. Close inspection of the head pattern ...

Like many in the Northland, I like to feed birds during the winter. Though there are some who keep their feeders stocked throughout the year, I begin the feeding as we reach November. With chilly ...

Our predominant sparrow of winter is our little American Tree Sparrow, or Spizella arborea, whose genus of birds is often referred to affectionately as “spitzes.” This genus is also called another ...

American Tree Sparrows typically live in northern forests and visit feeders only in winter across southern Canada and Northern united States. Many times, they will scratch for millet underneath ...

In the early part of April, there were sometimes two dozen mallards on my mostly icy home pond. There was one male who was not fully “dressed’” —while all the other males in the group had long since ...

It’s easy to lump all sparrow bird types together: “Yep, looks like a sparrow to me.” You can find at least 33 species of native sparrows across the country. And while their plumage won’t sweep you ...

Winter in the Rockies reduces the number and diversity of birds. We do get an influx of four junco subspecies: pink-sided, Oregon, slate-colored and white-winged. They winter in our area, far away ...