Nelson's Sparrow
Ammospiza nelsoni
This bright sparrow has multiple disjunct populations; inland breeders are generally brighter than coastal breeders. Atlantic birds have a duller buffy face and breast with blurry gray streaking; Interior birds are brighter orange with crisper black streaking. Similar to Saltmarsh Sparrow but shows less contrast between the face, throat, and breast and has a shorter blue-gray bill. Inland birds can be confused with LeConte's Sparrow but note clean gray nape and gray, not white, stripe in crown. Conspicuous when singing, otherwise secretive. Its song is a simple hiss like water sizzling in a frying pan. Winters in coastal marshes along most of Atlantic seaboard and Gulf Coast.
Identification
Measurements:<p>Adults have brownish upperparts with gray on the crown and nape, a cream-colored breast with light or indistinct streaking and a white throat and belly; they have an orange face with gray cheeks and a short pointed tail.
Taxonomy
This bird was named after Edward William Nelson, an American naturalist. Formerly, this bird and the saltmarsh sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta) were considered to be a single species, the sharp-tailed sparrow; because of this it was briefly known as Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow.
- Scientific name
- Ammospiza nelsoni
- Authority
- (Allen, JA, 1875)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
- Genus
- Ammospiza
Range and habitat
Their breeding habitat is marshes on the Atlantic coast of Canada and Maine, central Canada, (the Canadian Prairies region and a coastal strip on the south of Hudson Bay), and the north-central United States.
- Breeding range
- NA : Canada and n USA
- Non-breeding range
- se USA
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
These birds migrate to the southeastern coast of the United States. They forage on the ground or in marsh vegetation, sometimes probing in mud and eat mainly insects, aquatic invertebrates and seeds. Their call is a raspy trill, almost a mechanical sound. It may be given in flight during the nesting season. The sound has been likened to a drop of water hitting a hot fry pan.
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Common Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceus
Rather plain medium-sized warbler: warm brown above with narrow pale spectacles, pale buffy below. Can be very difficult to separate from other reed warbler species. Most populations breed in reed or sedge beds, both pure and mixed with bushes, often wandering to adjacent scrub and thickets. “Mangrove” Reed Warbler is a resident in mangroves along the Red Sea. Non-breeding migratory birds may wind up in a wide range of habitats, from marshes to mangroves, to acacia scrub and cultivation. Often heard but can be hard to see: prolonged song much like Sedge Warbler but more even-paced and melodic, without rough and jerky phrases. Calls include a low “chuk” and rattled “chrrt.”
Beautiful Sibia
Heterophasia pulchella
A silky blue-gray sibia with a dark face found in foothill and montane evergreen forests. As with other sibias, travels through the upper levels of the forest in flocks. No other species combines overall gray plumage with a weak black mask and canopy-loving behavior. Calls loudly and frequently as it forages, giving sharp, querulous twitters, often followed by long drawn-out squeaks.
Madagascar Fish-Eagle
Icthyophaga vociferoides
Large, short-tailed, fish-eating eagle. Adult has a pale head and tail. Immature is darker, though with a paler buffy head. This critically endangered bird is found very locally along the west coast of western and northern Madagascar. Its habitats include freshwater lakes and rivers, mangroves, coastline, and islands. Quite vocal, giving a mournful series of “cheow” notes, usually in a duet by a pair. Separated from all other raptors in its range by its large size and short tail.
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