Grasshopper Sparrow
Ammodramus savannarum
Small, short-tailed, flat-headed sparrow found in weedy grasslands. Warm buffy coloration with clean unstreaked breast. Thin white eyering and yellow patch above eye. Back and wings are patterned with gray and rufous. Easy to see when singing atop a shrub, but can be very secretive much of the year. Best detected by its dry, insect like trill preceded by a few introductory notes. Typically not in flocks.
Identification
These small sparrows measure 10–14 cm (3.9–5.5 in) in length, span about 17.5 cm (6.9 in) across the wings and weigh from 13.8 to 28.4 g (0.49 to 1.00 oz), with an average of 17 g (0.60 oz). Adults have upper parts streaked with brown, grey, black and white; they have a light brown breast, a white belly and a short brown tail. Their face is light brown with a white eye ring and a dark brown crown with a central narrow light stripe. Adults sport bright yellow feathers at the crook of their underwing, and have a yellow-to-amber patch above their lores. Males and females cannot be distinguished by their plumage, and young birds molt into adult plumage within a few months of fledging.
Taxonomy
The grasshopper sparrow was described in 1713 by English parson and naturalist John Ray based on a specimen collected in Jamaica. It was described again and illustrated in 1725 by the naturalist and collector Hans Sloane. Both authors used the English name "Savanna bird". When the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1789 he included the grasshopper sparrow. He placed it with the finches in the genus Fringilla, coined the binomial name Fringilla savannarum and cited the earlier authors. The grasshopper sparrow is now placed with two other American sparrows in the genus Ammodramus that was introduced by William Swainson in 1827.<p>Twelve subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Ammodramus savannarum
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
- Genus
- Ammodramus
Range and habitat
Their breeding habitat is open fields and prairie grasslands across southern Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean. There is a small endangered population in the Andes of Colombia and (perhaps only formerly) Ecuador. In the central USA, birds are quick to locate newly available habitat, and can be attracted to sites by playing conspecific song. The spatial distribution of territories on the landscape can be clumped with several individuals defending territories near to one another interspersed by large areas of unused and apparently suitable habitat. The reasons for this clumping are elusive; aggregation is not related to group defense against predators or brood parasite, cooperative care, extra-pair matings, or kin selection. Appropriate habitat is strongly influenced by plant structure and precipitation amounts during previous seasons. Grasshopper sparrows avoid woody vegetation, and in the wetter parts of their range, prefer fields that are burned every 2–3 years (which reduces encroachment of trees and shrubs) and seek out areas that are moderately grazed by cattle or bison.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Indian Scops-Owl
Otus bakkamoena
Medium-sized scops-owl with prominent ear tufts and dark eyes. Coloration variable, ranging from gray to brown, but dark eyes, thin black border around the facial disc, and lightly streaked underparts remain constant. Gives bouncy amphibian-like barks at changing intervals. Inhabits forests, forest edges, parks, and gardens from lowlands up into foothill and montane regions.
Red-fronted Barbet
Tricholaema diademata
A medium-sized black-and-white barbet. Note the red patch above the bill and the white eyebrow and breast. Immatures lack the red patch above the bill. There is some geographical variation, mainly in the amount of spotting on the underparts. Found in dry woodland and savanna. Similar to Spot-flanked and Black-throated Barbets, but easily separated by the lack of a black throat patch. The vocalizations are a long, descending series of hoots and a nasal “yank” note.
Great Grebe
Podiceps major
Huge grebe with a long dagger-like bill, a dark gray head, and long, thin rufous neck. The face is paler gray in the nonbreeding season. Inhabits large open areas of water including large rivers and coastal lagoons. Outside of the breeding season may be found on estuaries and along the coast.
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