BIRDS OF NANTUCKET
PING PONG BALL BIRD - THE SEQUEL
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw

Field Sparrow

It was an early April morning near Atlanta when I first heard this song. I was with my Georgia birding mentor, Terry Moore, walking along an area of fallow farm fields bordered by big loblolly pines. From about 50 yards away I heard a single downwhistled note, repeated more and more rapidly until it was like a frenzied vibration. Terry saw me whip my head around toward it, and commented, "Song of the Field Sparrow, the ping pong ball bird." Later I read Lucy Larcom's poem, "The Field Sparrow," where she says, "He has but a word to say, and of that he will not be cheated. The singer I have not seen; But the song I arise and follow." I am like Lucy. I wanted to find the singer.

Every place you bird there is a new bird orchestra whose instruments you have to learn to recognize. The Carolina Wren had already just about driven me crazy - all those different calls. I kept asking, "What's that one?" Answer was always the same, "Carolina Wren." I was feeling a bit dense. The ping pong song has always stayed with me and I've now heard it all over the Eastern United States, even on Nantucket! They've not been found to nest here, but they are confirmed on the Vineyard.

Field Sparrows are "sparrow-sized" - that is, small. You really need binoculars to distinguish their field marks, but doing so is quite worthwhile. They have a chestnut wash around the breast, throat and top of their head, contrasted with gray. Their white eye ring makes them look a bit startled. Their pink bill distinguishes them from the similar Chipping Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows that are found here in winter. Two white wingbars cross their wing.

Alexander Wilson gave them their scientific name, Spizella pusilla, in the early 1800s. It translates to the "smallest finch." All I can say is Alexander must have been handed the runt of the litter to look at since the name is quite inaccurate.

Field Sparrows nest all over the Eastern United States, right up to the Canadian border and almost to the Gulf of Mexico. In winter they withdraw from the northern part of their range, like many of us do. Our island is at their northern extreme and Nantucket birders demonstrate this, having found them on seven of 10 of our recent Christmas Bird Counts.

Coming north in the spring, the males arrive as much as three weeks ahead of their potential spouses. Male Field Sparrows exercise a trait known as 'site fidelity,' meaning they tend to return to the exact territory where they were the summer before, even the same bush if possible. On arrival they quickly announce their presence with their ping pong ball song. This is not just because of exuberance but serves to proclaim they own their little three-acre space of pasture. As days pass they skirmish, mainly by song, with neighboring males until the invisible territorial borders are firmly established.

Banding studies have shown the same male Field Sparrows returning to the same fields as many as six years in a row. The females are not so lucky in their travels, seldom making it back to the same site and partner. The other observation is that the males with territory simply accept the first females to arrive for the summer. Absence does not make the heart go fonder in nature. If last year's mate gets stuck in traffic, she'll have to find a new Mr. Right!

Their nests are made of grass, either right on the ground or within a few inches of it. Mrs. Field Sparrow handles all the incubation for the three to five eggs, to the point that if something happens to her, the nest fails unless hubby finds a willing female stepparent.

The nemesis of the Field Sparrow is the Brownheaded Cowbird. Cowbirds do not build nests of their own. They survive by laying their eggs in other birds' nests and getting them to raise their fast growing and aggressive youngsters. Field Sparrows try to get around this by building lots of nests to confuse the cowbirds.

Now is a great time to find these handsome sparrows on Nantucket. Many of the birds passing through have only hatched a few months ago. They are making their first trip south. Watch along the grassy sides of our roads for little flocks of sparrows. Field Sparrows like to fly to the top of a grass stalk, then ride it down to the ground to more easily remove the seeds. Study these little groups with your

binoculars and you will be charmed. I

George C. West creates illustrations for these articles. If you enjoy "social" birding, join the Nantucket Bird Club at 8 a.m. Sundays in front of Nantucket High School for a two to three hour birding trip. Call 228-1693 for more information. To hear about rare birds, or to leave a bird report call the Massachusetts Audubon hot line at 781-259- 8805. Ask Ken a question at: kenandcindy1@comcast. net.