Chipping Sparrow    Spizella passerina

Conservation Status

General Status in Canada : Secure

COSEWIC Status : Not assessed

Chipping Sparrow populations have likely increased, and the species range has expanded, following European settlement in North America. The clearing of forests for agriculture and other development has undoubtedly increased the amount of suitable nesting and foraging habitat. Over the past thirty years, however, some populations have been declining in Canada, according to long-term Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Factors causing these declines are poorly understood and warrant further investigation into the population dynamics and limiting factors that regulate this species. Possible causes include the expansion of forested land in eastern portions of the breeding range, and the expansion of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) populations into the Chipping Sparrow range. Since the Chipping Sparrow is such a common and widespread species that utilizes residential and urban landscapes across the country, it is not considered to be of conservation concern at this time.

Reference(s)

Middleton, A. L. 1998. Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina), The Birds of North America Online, . A. Poole, Ed. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/334