BirdBrain AcademySparrows · Passerellidae
American Tree Sparrow sounds
Spizelloides arborea
A medium-sized New World sparrow, the American Tree Sparrow breeds in Alaska and northern Canada and winters farther south.
Listen to the American Tree Sparrow
Each recording below is a short excerpt with its spectrogram, a picture of the sound. Time runs left to right and higher pitches sit higher up. Play each one, then look for the same shape in the next. Different recordings of the same bird help you learn the bird, not one clip.
Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Richardson Nature Center, Hennepin, Minnesota, 2013-02-03. XC121042 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.
Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Richardson Nature Center, Hennepin, Minnesota, 2013-03-31. XC128002 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.
Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Richardson Nature Center, Hennepin, Minnesota, 2013-03-31. XC127999 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.
What to listen for
Its song is a sweet, high warble that descends in pitch and grows buzzy near the finish.
What it looks like
Adults have a rusty cap, gray underparts with a small dark breast spot, and a rusty back with lighter stripes. They show brown wings with white bars, a slim tail, a gray face, a rusty eye-line, and light brown splashes on the flanks.
Where to find it
The American Tree Sparrow breeds in tundra or at the northern edge of boreal forest in Alaska and northern Canada, nesting on the ground. In winter it moves into southern Canada and the United States, foraging on the ground or in low bushes, often in flocks when not nesting.
BirdBrain regions that include this bird
- Alaska
- California
- Eastern Canada
- Great Lakes
- Mid-Atlantic
- New England
- Northern Europe
- Northwest
- Plains
- Southeast
- Texas
- Western Canada
Did you know?
- It is the only member of the genus Spizelloides.
- Despite laying one egg per day over a week, chicks hatch within a few hours of each other.
- Breeding pairs do not stay together after the season.
Learn the American Tree Sparrow by ear
BirdBrain Academy teaches bird sounds with side-by-side listening and quizzes that use different recordings, so you learn the bird rather than one clip. Start with six free lessons, no signup needed. On your phone, Sound ID can name the birds singing around you.
Related birds
Species notes are adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and checked for BirdBrain. Recordings come from xeno-canto under the licenses shown with each one. Photo: Laitche, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Identification guidance is educational; birds vary, so confirm unusual sightings with local experts or eBird.