Ranges from Alaska to Southern Canada and over almost all of the U.S. In winter, they prefer open woods, undergrowth, roadsides and brush. Common in suburban areas in the winter.
Close to half of their summer diet is insects. They feed heavily on seeds of weeds and grasses, especially in the winter. Young are fed almost entirely on insects. Will come to feeders, but mostly forage on the ground beneath the feeding tray.
- Nest is almost always on the ground, well hidden under overhanging grass, under logs, rocks or in a shallow hole in a dirt bank. It is built mostly by the female, and is an open cup of grass, weeds, leaves, lined with fine grass and sometimes hair and feathers.
- 3-5, whitish to bluish white in color. Incubation is by the female and lasts 11-13 days.
- Both parents feed the nestlings with most by the female. Young leave the nest about 9-13 days after hatching. 1-2 broods per year.