Grasshopper Sparrow
| Grasshopper Sparrow | |
|---|---|
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Emberizidae |
| Genus: | Ammodramus |
| Species: | A. savannarum |
| Binomial name | |
| Ammodramus savannarum (Gmelin, 1789) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Coturniculus savannarum |
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The Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum, is a small sparrow. The Ammodramus genus of 11 species inhabit grasslands and marshes.
Adults have upperparts 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 an eye ring and a dark brown crown with a central narrow light stripe. There are regional variations in the appearance of this bird.
Their breeding habitat is open fields and prairie across southern Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central America, with a small endangered population in the Andes of Colombia and (perhaps only formerly) Ecuador. The nest is a well-concealed open cup on the ground under vegetation.
The northern populations migrate to the southern United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
They forage on the ground in vegetation, mainly eating insects, especially grasshoppers, and seeds.
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This bird's song is a buzzy tik tuk zee, resembling the sound made by a grasshopper. Unlike some other members of the Ammodramus family of sparrows, they will readily sing from open and exposed perches. Like many grassland birds, this bird's numbers have declined across many parts of its range, including a 98% drop in New York State.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Ammodramus savannarum. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 5 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ammodramus savannarum |
- Grasshopper Sparrow Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Grasshopper Sparrow Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Grasshopper Sparrow - Ammodramus savannarum - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Grasshopper Sparrow photo gallery VIREO
- Florida Grasshopper Sparrow Bird Sound
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This Biota of Puerto Rico-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Ammodramus
- Birds of Aruba
- Birds of Baja Peninsula Mexico
- Birds of Canada
- Birds of El Salvador
- Birds of Guatemala
- Birds of Honduras
- Birds of Mexico
- Birds of North America
- Birds of Puerto Rico
- Birds of the Bahamas
- Birds of the Caribbean
- Birds of the Greater Antilles
- Birds of the Netherlands Antilles
- Birds of the Turks and Caicos Islands
- Birds of the United States
- North American migratory birds
- Biota of Puerto Rico stubs
