 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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-1.74 (-2.66 - -0.85)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Chipping Sparrows were widely distributed across the province being observed in 1,271 squares spanning all ecoregions. A common bird from the Boreal Transition ecoregion northward, Chipping Sparrows were more local elsewhere, with observations becoming less frequent towards the arid southwest. South of the boreal forest they were observed taking advantage of aspen bluffs, wooded coulees, and especially farmyards and towns where conifers have been planted. Breeding was confirmed in 135 squares, most often through observations of adults carrying food for young and recently fledged young.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
The Chipping Sparrow is one of North America's most widely distributed migrant songbirds. Their uniform trill on one pitch is a characteristic sound in the northern boreal forest, as well as along southern residential streets. It breeds across most of North America from east-central Alaska to the southern tip of Newfoundland, south through the US and the highlands of Central America to northern Nicaragua. Chipping Sparrows normally winter as far north as southern California and New Jersey.
The Chipping Sparrow prefers open woodlands, forest borders and clearings, the wooded borders of rivers and lakes, and brushy, weedy fields (Middleton 1998). Since settlement, it has adapted well to human-modified habitats.
The Chipping Sparrow breeds commonly in the subarctic and boreal forests of northern Saskatchewan and in the Cypress Hills. In the parklands and mixed grass prairie it is only fairly common and generally restricted to urban areas and farmsteads, especially where conifers have been planted. In the Great Sand Hills and shortgrass prairie it is only a transient (Smith 1996).
Original text by Guy Wapple. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Chipping Sparrow in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Chipping Sparrow in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=CHSP&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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