field sparrow

American  

noun

1. a common North American finch, Spizella pusilla, found in brushy pasturelands.

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Etymology

Origin of field sparrow

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

field sparrow

I’ve gone whole winters without seeing a field sparrow in the New Orleans vicinity.

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2012

A little field sparrow came to a tragical end in a different way.

From Our Bird Comrades by Keyser, Leander S. (Leander Sylvester)

In the meadows the bobolink is in all his glory; in the high pastures the field sparrow sings his breezy vesper hymn; and the woods are unfolding to the music of the thrushes.

From Eighth Reader by Baldwin, James

Then, as it grew dark, it grew silent,—except for the hylas,—till suddenly a field sparrow gave out his sweet strain once.

From Birds in the Bush by Torrey, Bradford

Sitting clumsily on a big stump, a big baby cowbird, well able to shift for himself, shamelessly takes food from his little field sparrow foster-mother, scarcely more than half his size.

From Some Summer Days in Iowa by Lazell, Frederick John