This is bird note.

The American tree sparrow is a common winter visitor in the northern U.S., but there's more to this

little brown bird than meets the eye.

Despite their name, American tree sparrows stay close to the ground. They'll even nest directly

on the ground in open shrublands of Alaska and Northern

Canada. In their summer home, the sparrows raised their young on protein-packed bugs and juicy

insects. In winter, American tree sparrows rely on seeds from grasses, wildflowers, and bird feeders, especially millet.

When foraging, they'll kick through leaf litter with their powerful feet and beat seed heads open with their wings.

You'll often find them foraging in mixed flocks with other species.

Keep an eye out for a little brown sparrow with a dark spot on its cream-colored

chest and a two-toned bill that's black on top and yellow underneath. Though American tree

sparrows are common in North America, their populations have steeply declined since the 1970s. You can

welcome these birds to your neighborhood by growing

native plants, keeping cats indoors, and filling bird feeders with a millet-rich-seed mix.

For bird note, I'm Ariana Rimmel. This episode is dedicated in memory of Pat and Joanne Adams of

Hartville, Ohio, who enjoyed caring for backyard birds and shared that joy with others.