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  • A Junco on green grass

Sparrows at the Humber Arboretum

Did you know that twenty different species of sparrow have been identified in Toronto? Sparrows are an often-overlooked bird, with many people assuming that every little brown bird is the same. Birdwatchers even have a nickname for when they see a sparrow they can't identify - LBJ, or "Little Brown Job." But look closely at the any LBJ you spot flying or hopping around the Arb, and you may find you get a new, broader perspective on the diversity of life with whom we share our world.

Common Sparrows at the Arb

Here are some of the sparrow species you're likely to see at various times of the year. All have been observed by staff or visitors at the Humber Arboretum and reported on eBird or added to the Humber Arboretum iNaturalist Project.

House Sparrow

A House Sparrow eats a seed left on a rock.

A male House Sparrow in January. Photo by Colleen Craig (Some rights reserved, CC BY-NC), iNaturalist Observation 37306934

Scientific Name: Passer domesticus

Although they are the most commonly seen sparrow species around Toronto, House Sparrows are actually a non-native species who are originally from Europe. In fact, House Sparrows are in a different taxonomic family then every other bird that we call a "sparrow" in Ontario. House Sparrows are part of the Old World Sparrows (family Passeridae) while all other sparrow species in Toronto (and on this list) are considered New World Sparrows (family Passerellidae). While House Sparrows are doing well in cities and suburbs around Ontario, as a species they are actually struggling in places like the UK, where their drastic decline in recent decades has yet to be fully understood. 

For male House Sparrows their distinguishing feature is the black bib under their chin and on their grey chest, which is wide and dark during the summer breeding season but can be paler and harder to spot at other times of the year. During breeding season the males are more vibrant overall, with their head a rich chestnut colour with a grey cap, and their backs patterned chestnut and black. The rest of the year males are the same colours but paler, while females and juveniles lack the bib and have a paler brown-grey chest and backs that are are a mix of black and brown. 

House Sparrows are chatty birds, often settled in the branches of trees and shrubs, cheeping away to each other. In the Arb, look for them, well, anywhere, but especially splashing around in the running water at the Garden of the Rising Moon or hanging around when you're having an outdoor lunch, hoping to snag a crumb.      

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Song Sparrow

A Song sparrow with their head thrown back mid song

A male Song Sparrow sings in late March along the West Humber Trail. Photo by Colleen Craig (Some rights reserved, CC BY-NC). iNaturalist observation 21535335

Scientific Name: Melospiza melodia

As both their common name and the second part of their scientific name suggest, Song Sparrows are known for their melodies. During breeding season the males often find a very visible perch to throw back their heads and let loose. 

Along with watching for a bird who's busting out a tune, when trying to identify a Song Sparrow look for dark, distinct stripes on their breast that converge into a dense spot right in the center of their chest.

While these birds can be seen throughout the Arboretum, look for them especially around the Humber Pond and the West Humber Trail. When they aren't singing, Song Sparrows are often foraging on or near the ground, so look for them hopping through or under shurbs.  

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Chipping Sparrow

A Chipping Sparrow on cut grass

A Chipping Sparrow in the Arboretum gardens. Photo by Marilyn Campbell (Some rights reserved, CC-BY-NC). iNaturalist Observation 157000858. 

Scientific Name: Spizella passerina

Chipping Sparrows are a seasonal visitor to Toronto, with eBird reports showing that the species is generally seen from April or May to October or November each year. Males and females will both make a short chip noise to keep in touch with each other, called a contact call. Males also make a long trill of chips as their song; a noise you've probably heard if you spend any time in the Arboretum woodlands in spring.

To identify adult Chipping Sparrows in the summer months, look for an unmarked grey chest and belly, a white throat, a rusty cap, and a distinct black line that starts at their beak and seems to run right through their eye.         

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White-throated Sparrow

A White-throated Sparrow perched on a branch with leaves in fall colours visible in the background.

White-throated Sparrow in the Arboretum gardens in October. Photo by Leposava Milosavljevic (cropped to square), (Some rights reserved, CC-BY-NC). iNaturalist Observation 139829817 

Scientific Name: Zonotrichia albicollis

As the name suggests, one distinct feature of White-throated Sparrows is their bright white throat. But mature adults also have yellow patches between their beak and eye, and black stripes on their head. Outside of those markings their are two colour variations: some of these birds have white bands between their black head stripes, while others are more tan. You might think this was a difference between males and females but it isn't - either sex can be tan striped or white striped, but interestingly individuals always seem to mate with the opposite colour type to their own.  

One way of helping to learn and remember different bird songs is to put words to the notes that birds sing. White-throated Sparrows have long been associated with the phrase "Oh sweet Canada, Canada, Canada." But several decades ago some unknown individual in British Columbia decided to mix things up and dropped the last syllable of the three note ending ("Oh sweet Cana, Cana, Cana"). The change caught on, and over twenty years it's been spreading eastward across the country. So if you spot a White-throated Sparrow singing, listen closely to hear which version they prefer.     

Sources / Further Reading:

Dark-eyed Junco

A Dark-eyed Junco, a bird with a slate grey back white belly and pink bill.

A Dark-eyed Junco perched near the West Humber Trail. Photo by Ben Freeman, 2019 (Some rights reserved, CC-BY-NC) iNaturalist Observation 20347521 

Scientific Name: Junco hyemalis 

Although the word "sparrow" doesn't appear in their name, Dark-eyed Juncos are also part of the family of New World Sparrows. They are sometimes given the nickname "snowbirds," both because they only show up in much of Canada in the winter, and because some people think their dark grey backs and bright white bellies resemble a dark, overcast winter sky over a fresh, snowy field.

Look for flocks of these birds in the Arb throughout the winter months, especially on the ground beneath the bird feeders and flitting among the low branches of nearby trees and shrubs. Dark-eyed Juncos can vary in how dark they are on top, with some looking more brown than grey. But all of them have white feathers on the edges of their tails that you can only see well when they fly, so look for the white flash when a hungry squirrel who's also interested in the fallen bird seed causes the Juncos to scatter.     

Sources / Further Reading:

More Sparrows to Watch For

Although some of them are are seen less frequently, the following sparrows have also been reported to the Humber Arboretum iNaturalist Project or on an eBird Checklist:

And these sparrows have been reported in other areas of Toronto:

  • Lark Sparrow
  • Golden-crowned Sparrow
  • Vesper Sparrow
  • Clay-coloured Sparrow
  • Grasshopper Sparrow
  • LeConte's Sparrow
  • Nelson's Sparrow
More Humber Arboretum Wildlife 
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