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Bird

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

Lives in Alabama all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 17 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
17

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
17
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 17

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 17

Coastal dunes and beaches

White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola
SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal GrasslandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

In the Jungle, Florida
SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Georgia Pines
SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Blue Spring, Florida
SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Cumberland Riverscour; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerWinterRidge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland; Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerWinterCumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods; South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation
Other habitats in its models (126)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

In Alabama 1

  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Elsewhere in the South (67)
  • Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
Northeast (9)
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Midwest (7)
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (42)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

  • Year-round: nests here, in all 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 202

Plant genera in its diet records (24)
  • Polygonum Seeds. 5 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Setaria Seeds. 5 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Deschampsia Seeds. 4 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Digitaria Seeds. 4 diet records. 5 native plants in Alabama
  • Panicum Seeds. 4 diet records. 6 native plants in Alabama
  • Sorghastrum Seeds. 4 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Acalypha Seeds. 3 diet records. 5 native plants in Alabama
  • Avena Seeds. 3 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Poa Seeds. 3 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Agropyron Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Danthonia Seeds. 2 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Iva Seeds. 2 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Oxalis Seeds. 2 diet records. 8 native plants in Alabama
  • Rumex Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Amaranthus Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Calandrinia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Carex Seeds. 1 diet record. 140 native plants in Alabama
  • Centaurea Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Chloris Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Claytonia Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Erodium Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Phleum Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Solanum Seeds. 1 diet record. 6 native plants in Alabama
  • Stellaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Chipping Sparrow uses many habitats in Alabama; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Dry forests and woodlands

Birds 80

Plants 224

All of dry forests and woodlands in Alabama

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 115

Plants 1485

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in Alabama

Moist forests

Birds 70

Plants 337

All of moist forests in Alabama

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources