Bird
Chipping Sparrow
Spizella passerina
Lives in Florida all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 14 habitats.
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 67 counties
- Habitats
- 14

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 67 counties
- Habitats
- 14
- Habitat models
- Summer, Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Florida 14
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.




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.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Evergreen scrub oaks, sand pine and rosemary on deep, white, drought-prone sand ridges, burned rarely but intensely; distinct from the longleaf and turkey oak sandhills.
Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
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.
Other habitats in its models (138)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Florida. Those recorded in Florida first, the rest by region.
In Florida 3
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
- South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
Elsewhere in the South (72)
- 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.
- 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 Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Cumberland Riverscour Summer and winter.
- Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods 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.
- 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.
- Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
- South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer and winter.
- South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer and winter.
- Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland 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 Low Mountain Pine Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest 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 (47)
- Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer and winter.
- 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.
- Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems 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 - Herbaceous Modifier 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 Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland 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 - 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 - Hardwood 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.
Seasons in Florida
- Year-round: nests here, in 15 of 67 counties.
- Migratory: does not nest here, in 20 of 67 counties.
- Winter: does not nest here, in 45 of 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 137
- Florida JointweedPolygonum basiramia
- Hairy JointweedPolygonum delopyrum
- Largeflower JointweedPolygonum nesomii
- Largeleaf JointweedPolygonum smallianum
- October FlowerPolygonum polygamum var. brachystachyum
- Polygonella fimbriataPolygonum fimbriatum
- Polygonella polygamaPolygonum polygamum var. polygamum
- Small's JointweedPolygonum dentoceras
- Seabeach KnotweedPolygonum glaucum
- Tall JointweedPolygonum pinicola
- Setaria macrospermaSetaria macrosperma
- Coastal BristlegrassSetaria corrugata
- Giant BristlegrassSetaria magna
- Marsh BristlegrassSetaria parviflora
- Digitaria serotinaDigitaria serotina
- Fall WitchgrassDigitaria cognata
- Florida CrabgrassDigitaria floridana
- Jamaican CrabgrassDigitaria horizontalis
- Longleaf CrabgrassDigitaria gracillima
- Simpson's CrabgrassDigitaria simpsonii
- Sour GrassDigitaria insularis
- Twospike CrabgrassDigitaria pauciflora
- Bitter PanicgrassPanicum amarum
- Fall Panic GrassPanicum dichotomiflorum var. dichotomiflorum
Plant genera in its diet records (24)
- Polygonum Seeds. 5 diet records. 10 native plants in Florida
- Setaria Seeds. 5 diet records. 4 native plants in Florida
- Deschampsia Seeds. 4 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
- Digitaria Seeds. 4 diet records. 8 native plants in Florida
- Panicum Seeds. 4 diet records. 5 native plants in Florida
- Sorghastrum Seeds. 4 diet records. 4 native plants in Florida
- Acalypha Seeds. 3 diet records. 4 native plants in Florida
- Avena Seeds. 3 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
- Poa Seeds. 3 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
- Agropyron Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
- Danthonia Seeds. 2 diet records. 2 native plants in Florida
- Iva Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
- Oxalis Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
- Rumex Seeds. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Florida
- Amaranthus Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Florida
- Calandrinia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
- Carex Seeds. 1 diet record. 77 native plants in Florida
- Centaurea Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
- Chloris Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
- Claytonia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
- Erodium Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
- Phleum Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
- Solanum Seeds. 1 diet record. 8 native plants in Florida
- Stellaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Florida
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Florida, 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.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Birds 116
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Mitred ParakeetAratinga mitrata
- Monk ParakeetMyiopsitta monachus
- Upland SandpiperBartramia longicauda
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Western MeadowlarkSturnella neglecta
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- Rufous HummingbirdSelasphorus rufus
Plants 1524
- Whitestar Morning-gloryIpomoea leucantha
- Canada LettuceLactuca canadensis
- Common HorseweedErigeron canadensis
- Annual FleabaneErigeron annuus
- Oakleaf FleabaneErigeron quercifolius
- Dog-fennelEupatorium capillifolium
- Common Evening-primroseOenothera biennis
- Carolina Crane's-billGeranium carolinianum
- Cutleaf Evening-primroseOenothera laciniata
- Threadleaf SundropsOenothera linifolia
- Carolina HorsenettleSolanum carolinense var. carolinense
- Tooth Leaf Croton; Sand CrotonCroton glandulosus var. septentrionalis
Pine flatwoods
Birds 69
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Red-cockaded WoodpeckerPicoides borealis
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Burrowing OwlAthene cunicularia
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- Crested CaracaraCaracara cheriway
- Florida Burrowing OwlAthene cunicularia floridana
- Bachman's SparrowAimophila aestivalis
- Cape May WarblerDendroica tigrina
- Florida Grasshoper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum floridanus
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
Plants 315
- Vaccinium darrowiiVaccinium darrowii
- Vaccinium myrsinitesVaccinium myrsinites
- Chapman's CrownbeardVerbesina chapmanii
- Verbesina heterophyllaVerbesina heterophylla
- ScareweedBaptisia simplicifolia
- Florida IronweedVernonia blodgettii
- Scrubland GoldenasterChrysopsis subulata
- Telephus SpurgeEuphorbia telephioides
- Florida Sands St.john's-wortHypericum exile
- Hypericum microsepalumHypericum microsepalum
- Oclemena reticulataOclemena reticulata
- Garber's GayfeatherLiatris garberi
Maritime forests and thickets
Birds 52
- Black-whiskered VireoVireo altiloquus
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Red-crowned ParrotAmazona viridigenalis
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- White-crowned PigeonPatagioenas leucocephala
- Cape May WarblerDendroica tigrina
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Mangrove CuckooCoccyzus minor
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
Plants 48
- Live OakQuercus virginiana
- Asimina angustifoliaAsimina angustifolia
- Forestiera godfreyiForestiera godfreyi
- Carolina Laurel CherryPrunus caroliniana
- Tough BumeliaSideroxylon tenax
- Slash PinePinus elliottii
- Dune Ground-cherryPhysalis walteri
- Glowing NightshadeSolanum chenopodioides
- Southern MagnoliaMagnolia grandiflora
- Calcium-fleeing SedgeCarex calcifugens
- Florida SedgeCarex nigromarginata var. floridana
- Ovateleaf FlatsedgeCyperus ovatus
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Chipping Sparrow Elevation up to 914 m. Avoids forest interior
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)
- Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab) (CC0 1.0), diet records by plant genus



















































