Song Sparrows in Pennsylvania

Song Sparrows live in Pennsylvania all year. Snow cover makes suet and heated water valuable; both chickadee species meet in a narrow hybrid zone across the south of the state. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward weed and grass seeds.

Humid continental; cold, snowy winters in the north and mountains, milder in the southeast.

Across Pennsylvania, song sparrows typically nest from April–August. Nest site: grass cup on the ground or low in shrubs. Females lay 3–5 eggs, incubate for 12–14 days, and young leave the nest after 9–12 days.

Warm summers; bluebirds typically raise two broods.

• Song Sparrows don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as black cherry, white oak, flowering dogwood for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after August.

Of the regional native plants we track for Pennsylvania, these 8 provide food or cover song sparrows use:

Song Sparrows feed at the edge of shrubbery and are among the first birds singing in late winter.

• Best foods: Millet, Hulled sunflower, Cracked corn.
• In Pennsylvania's winter: Snow cover makes suet and heated water valuable; both chickadee species meet in a narrow hybrid zone across the south of the state.

Full diet breakdown for song sparrows · Best feeder for song sparrows