Field Sparrow Nests Climb Higher and Higher

Field Sparrows make use of all the warm months of the year by building multiple nests each breeding season. Females will build their first, cup-shaped nest near the ground in dense grasses. As shrubs and trees grow their leaves throughout the summer, they will pick new spots higher off the ground each time — to protect their eggs from mammals and snakes. These birds avoid human activity and they’re sensitive to suburban sprawl. We can help conserve field sparrows by conserving brushy habitats in agricultural landscapes.

This episode is sponsored by Wendy Legge in honor of her husband Gordon Legge, who loves listening to and recording all bird songs.

BirdNote^®
Field Sparrow Nests Climb Higher and Higher
Written by Conor Gearin

This is BirdNote.

[Field Sparrow song, ML94430, 0:32-0:35]

When a Field Sparrow builds a nest early in spring, dense grasses offer the best cover, so that’s where she builds. But it’s only the first of several nests she’ll make. Later in the season, as shrubs and trees grow their leaves, Field Sparrows nest again and again, higher off the ground each time — to protect their eggs from mammals and snakes.

This multiple nest strategy helps Field Sparrows make use of all the warm months of the year for their breeding season.

[Field Sparrow song, ML94430]

Field Sparrows build their cup-shaped nests in fields and in brushy areas, but they avoid human activity and they’re sensitive to suburban sprawl. Conserving brushy habitats in agricultural landscapes will help Field Sparrows keep building their nests higher and higher every summer.

Outside of town, listen for the Field Sparrow’s song, which sounds like a ping-pong ball bouncing and then coming to rest.

[Field Sparrow song, ML94430]

And watch for their trick to eat grass seeds: jumping on the end of a grass stalk, riding it to the ground, then chowing down on the seeds. Good eatin’.

For BirdNote, I’m Jonese Franklin.

This episode is sponsored by Wendy Legge in honor of her husband Gordon Legge, who loves listening to and recording all bird songs.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. ML94430 Field Sparrow recorded by Wil Hershberger.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2025 BirdNote March 2025
Narrator: Jonese Franklin

ID# FISP-01-2025-03-17 FISP-01

Reference:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/field_sparrow
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/fiespa/cur/introduction