Clay-colored Sparrow

This was a one day visitor to our yard on its way back to its northern breeding home. We caught this little thing eating cabbage beetles. So if I have anything negative to say about it, it is the fact the bird moved on. We have been dealing with too many of these with our expanded garden.

Editing... (I wish there was the ability to create more than one comment, since I am making note on field marks rather than a "review" of the bird. )

This bird can easily be passed as an immature/winter Chipping Sparrow, so maybe this is why no one else has their zip code on this page? Look at the eye line on a Chipping; it goes from the bill through the eye and back. The eyeline on the Clay-colored begins behind the eye. The color of the bill in the spring is a good ... read moreindicator of which bird... Chipping's is black and the Clay-colored is mostly pink with a tinge of gray on the top mandible.

In the fall, the two birds can really look alike, but look at that eyeline!

These birds can come to feeders, but in our experience they only eats the seed on the ground. Once there are insects, they can find beetles on the ground or some type of insects up in trees. I had a hard time finding my 2016 first of the year bird because of this. It foraged like a slow moving warbler about half-way up the tree.

I heard the bird for the first time this year, it makes a "bzzz...bzzz." Not very sweet sounding, but it's how they were made.