Field Sparrow Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Song
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Nebraska, June 12, 1990Recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller | Macaulay Library
Dawn song
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West Virginia, July 25, 1998Recorded by Wil Hershberger | Macaulay Library
Calls
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Ohio, June 04, 2009Recorded by Bob McGuire | Macaulay Library
Calls
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Pennsylvania, August 20, 2013Recorded by Paul Driver
Flight calls
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New York, May 16, 2018Recorded by Jay McGowan | Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

The Field Sparrow’s most familiar song is a long, accelerating series of short whistles that build to a rapid trill. It lasts about 4 seconds and has the quality of a bouncing ball coming to rest. In early morning, males sing a more complex song, which begins with the trill followed by longer notes, and is used during territorial interactions.

Calls

Males and females both give an array of calls, including a single-note “seep” when foraging together, and a higher-pitched version made by mated pairs when courting and nest building. A brooding female makes a call that sounds like a low-pitched cricket’s chirp when her mate approaches the nest with food. Threats will elicit a chip call, possibly to alert a mate or chicks, and the birds will react to hawks with a high, thin, whistled zeeeeee.