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Black-chinned sparrow        Images © Mark A. Chappell

The black-chinned sparrow is a handsome and somewhat junco-like bird that breeds in thick, old chaparral vegetation and other dry brushland in the southwestern US.   Its sweet, accelerating 'bouncing-ball' song begins to be heard in spring, but where I live these attractive little sparrows disappear by August.   These birds were photographed in the Box Springs Mountains above Riverside, California.   Some are sitting in chamise (Adenostema), which seems to be a favored plant for black-chins in southern California.   More photos of this species are here.

  • Canon 1D4; 800 mm IS lens plus 1.4X converter, fill-in flash (2012, 2014)