| Lark sparrow | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Passerellidae |
| Genus: | Chondestes Swainson, 1827 |
| Species: | C. grammacus |
| Binomial name | |
| Chondestes grammacus (Say, 1822) | |
 | |
The lark sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) is a fairly large New World sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Chondestes.
It breeds in southern Canada, much of the United States, and northern Mexico. It is much less common in the east, where its range is contracting. The populations in Mexico and adjacent states of the United States are resident, but other birds are migratory, wintering in the southern United States, Mexico and south to Guatemala.
It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, with two accepted records in Great Britain in 1981 and 1991.[ citation needed ]
The lark sparrow is distinctive. Adults have a typically sparrow-like dark-streaked brown back, and white underparts except for a dark central spot. The cheeks and crown sides are chestnut, with white eyebrow and crown stripes. The dark tail's corners are also white. Young lark sparrows are duller, and the underparts are streaked.
Measurements:
They forage on the ground or in low bushes. They mainly eat seeds, but insects, including grasshoppers, are also eaten in the breeding season. They form flocks on migration or in winter. When an occupied nest is approached by a predator, adult female lark sparrows are known to exhibit a distraction display. [2]
The breeding habitat is a variety of open habitats including grasslands and cultivation. Lark sparrows nest on the ground, laying three to six eggs in a grass cup nest sheltered by a clump of grass or other vegetation. The eggs are white with black scrawling. Lark sparrows are occasional victims of brood parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird. [2]
The song is two clear notes followed by a mixture of buzzes and trills. The flight call is a thin sit.
The eastern towhee is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the spotted towhee were considered a single species, the rufous-sided towhee.
The eastern meadowlark is a medium-sized blackbird, very similar in appearance to sister species western meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to northern South America, where it is also most widespread in the east. The Chihuahuan meadowlark was formerly considered to be conspecific with the eastern meadowlark.
The western meadowlark is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 8.5 in (22 cm) in length. It nests on the ground in open grasslands across western and central North America. It feeds mostly on bugs, but will also feed on seeds and berries. The western meadowlark has distinctive calls described as watery or flute-like, which distinguish it from the closely related eastern meadowlark. The western meadowlark is the state bird of six states: Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming.
The hooded oriole is a medium-sized New World oriole. The male of this species ranges in color from a bright orange to a paler yellow, with a black back, face, tail and bib, with the wing containing two white bars. The female is more of an olive color with some yellow accents.
The Blackburnian warbler is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina.
The grasshopper sparrow is a small New World sparrow. It belongs to the genus Ammodramus, which contains three species that inhabit grasslands and prairies. Grasshopper sparrows are sometimes found in crop fields and they will readily colonize reclaimed grassland. In the core of their range, grasshopper sparrows are dependent upon large areas of grassland where they avoid trees and shrubs. They seek out heterogenous patches of prairie that contain clumps of dead grass or other vegetation where they conceal their nest, and also contain barer ground where they forage for insects, spiders, and seeds. Grasshopper sparrows are unusual among New World sparrows in that they sing two distinct song types, the prevalence of which varies with the nesting cycle. The primary male song, a high trill preceded by a stereotyped series of short chips, is reminiscent of the sounds of grasshoppers and is the origin of this species' name. Like some other birds of the central North American grasslands, this species also moves around a lot, not only via annual migrations, but individuals frequently disperse between breeding attempts or breeding seasons. Grasshopper sparrows are in steep decline across their range, even in the core of the breeding distribution in the tallgrass prairies of the central Great Plains. The Florida grasshopper sparrow is highly endangered.
Henslow's sparrow is a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It was named by John James Audubon in honor of John Stevens Henslow. It was originally classified in the genus Emberiza and called Henslow's bunting.
The sedge wren is a small and secretive passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is widely distributed in North America. It is often found in wet grasslands and meadows where it nests in the tall grasses and sedges and feeds on insects. The sedge wren was formerly considered as conspecific with the non-migratory grass wren of central and South America.
LeConte's sparrow, also known as LeConte's bunting, is one of the smallest New World sparrow species in North America.
Baird's sparrow is a species of North American birds in the family Passerellidae of order Passeriformes. It is a migratory bird native to the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The sharp-tailed grouse, also known as the sharptail or fire grouse, is a medium-sized prairie grouse. One of three species in the genus Tympanuchus, the sharp-tailed grouse is found throughout Alaska, much of Northern and Western Canada, and parts of the Western and Midwestern United States. The sharp-tailed grouse is the provincial bird of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
The mountain plover is a medium-sized ground bird in the plover family (Charadriidae). It is misnamed, as it lives on level land. Unlike most plovers, it is usually not found near bodies of water or even on wet soil; it prefers dry habitat with short grass and bare ground. Its height is in the range of 5-9 inches, and length in the range of 8-10 inches ; and it weighs around 102 grams.
The golden-cheeked warbler is an endangered species of bird that breeds in Central Texas, from Palo Pinto County southwestward along the eastern and southern edge of the Edwards Plateau to Kinney County. The golden-cheeked warbler is the only bird species with a breeding range endemic to Texas.
The shiny cowbird is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in most of South America except for dense forests and areas of high altitude such as mountains. Since 1900 the shiny cowbird's range has shifted northward, and it was recorded in the Caribbean islands as well as the United States, where it is found breeding in southern Florida. It is a bird associated with open habitats, including disturbed land from agriculture and deforestation.
Botteri's sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow.
Cassin's sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow.
The green-tailed towhee is the smallest towhee, but is still one of the larger members of the American sparrow family Passerellidae.
Sprague's pipit is a small songbird (passerine) in the family Motacillidae that breeds in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of North America. Migratory, it spends the winters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Sprague's pipits are unusual among songbirds in that they sing high in the sky, somewhat like a goldfinch or skylark. It is more often identified by its distinctive descending song heard from above than by being seen on the ground. Males and females are cryptically coloured and similar in appearance; they are a buffy brown with darker streaking, slender bills and pinkish to yellow legs. Sprague's pipit summer habitat is primarily native grasslands in the north central prairies of the United States and Canada. The species was named after the botanical illustrator Isaac Sprague.
Bachman's sparrow, also known as the pinewoods sparrow or oakwoods sparrow, is a small American sparrow that is endemic to the southeastern United States. This species was named in honor of Reverend John Bachman.
The Florida grasshopper sparrow is an endangered subspecies of grasshopper sparrow native to the dry prairies of south-central Florida.
