| Of the several dozen species of sparrows in North America, the American Tree Sparrow is the hardiest, breeding far into the tundra region of northern Canada and northern Alaska, south only to central Canada. Not surprisingly, it winters essentially to the north of North Carolina, being found mainly in the northern half of the country. It winters regularly only to the northern parts of Virginia; a few birds probably occurred each winter in North Carolina through the end of the 20th Century, for brief periods. However, it takes a diligent birder to uncover one in the state, unless it shows up at a feeder. Most state records, as expected, occur in the northern half of the state, from the mountains to the coast; they are mainly found with Field Sparrows, less so with other species, in weedy fields and shrubby thickets, in open country. The species can be easily misidentified as a Swamp Sparrow or a Chipping Sparrow; photos are desirable for confirmation. Probably because of global warming, the southern edge of the winter range is retreating northward; and records in the state are dwindling with each passing decade, barely just one or two a decade now.
In summer 2015, the AOU moved the species out of the genus Spizella and into its own genus -- Spizelloides, as it has some affinities toward the Fox Sparrow (in the genus Passerella). |