| LeConte's sparrow | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Passerellidae |
| Genus: | Ammospiza |
| Species: | A. leconteii |
| Binomial name | |
| Ammospiza leconteii (Audubon, 1844) | |
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LeConte's sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii), also known as LeConte's bunting, [2] is one of the smallest New World sparrow species in North America. [2]
LeConte's sparrow is a small sparrow with a relatively large head, short grey bill and short pointed tail. It has a buffy yellow-orange face with grey cheeks, and a dark brown crown with a white central stripe. The nape of the neck is lilac grey with chestnut streaks, and the back is streaked with brown and beige. Its belly is off white, while the breast and sides are a buffy orange-yellow with dark brown streaks. The feet and legs are a brownish-pink colour.
The measurements for both sexes are: [3]
LeConte's sparrow is commonly mistaken for other small sparrows, such as the Nelson's sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni), grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), Henslow's sparrow (Centronyx henslowii), saltmarsh sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta), and Baird's sparrow. (C. bairdii). [4] [5]
LeConte's sparrow is a member of the order Passerifomes, which are the perching birds, sometimes less accurately referred to as the songbirds. It is from the family Passerellidae, which is characterized by species of small birds with bills adapted to seed eating. LeConte's sparrow was placed in the genus Ammodramus in the past and a molecular phylogeny of the related groups identified that genus as being polyphyletic and recommended the group to be split up. This species falls within the genus Ammospiza clade which includes A. maritimus, A. nelsoni, and A. caudacutus, [6] which are the ground-loving sparrows that prefer staying in tall, thick grasses to perching on trees. There has been a recorded case of a LeConte's sparrow that hybridized with a Nelson's sparrow, in June 1949 in Ontario, Canada. [2]
LeConte's sparrow was first described by John Latham in 1790 but only received a valid binomial name from John James Audubon in 1844. He wrote, "I have named this interesting species after my young friend Doctor Le Conte, son of Major Le Conte, so well known among naturalists, and who is, like his father, much attached to the study of natural history." [7] It is generally believed that he meant John Lawrence LeConte (whose father had been an Army surveyor with the rank of major), although some feel that he was referring to another John LeConte, also a doctor, and John Lawrence's cousin.[ citation needed ]
LeConte's sparrow breeds in select areas of Canada, such as northeastern British Columbia, across Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba as well as central Ontario and into Quebec; and as far south as northern Michigan, Montana and Minnesota. It winters in the southeastern United States; as far west as central Texas and as far north as central Illinois and Missouri. [8]
LeConte's sparrow prefers moist open grassy areas with sufficient vegetation cover to provide shelter. Known habitat use includes meadows, fields, crop stubble, shallow marshy edges, prairie, and occasionally fens and lake-shores within the boreal forest. [8] Studies have shown that vegetation seems to have a greater impact on the abundance of this bird than other factors like climate or patch size. [9] Winter et al. (2005) says that it can be found at highest densities in areas with a "moderate amounts of bare ground". Agriculture and drainage of these areas is currently the greatest threat to LeConte's sparrow. [10]
It is a very secretive bird that prefers to spend most of its time on the ground under the cover of tall grasses. [2] They are typically very difficult to flush, often only flushing at a distance of 1–3 m as they prefer to run across the ground. [3] When they do emerge they rarely fly more than a foot or two above the grass and often descend again within a few meters. [2] [4] Because it is so rarely seen, there are still many gaps in knowledge about LeConte's sparrow. Nests are often very hard to find, and individuals are more often identified by sound than by sight. For example, one survey of LeConte's sparrows identified 86 males by sound, but only 8 of those males by sight. [5] For the same reason, very few LeConte's have ever been banded. Between 1967 and 1984, only 355 were actually banded, and none were ever re-captured. [3]
The male's song resembles a grasshopper buzz with a short squeaky introductory note and ending with a short chirp. [8] It is often described as tika-zzzzzzzzzzzz-tik while the call is a short tsip. [5] [10] It is most commonly confused with the song of the Nelson's sparrow. The male generally sings from a concealed location, but can also be seen singing from the top of protruding grass stems, or occasionally in flight. [2]
Their diet in the summer is mostly insects such as weevils, leafhoppers, leaf beetles, stinkbugs, caterpillars, moths and spiders. [11] During the winter time the main diet consists of seeds of grasses and weeds such as northern dropseed, Indian grass, yellow foxtail, panic-grass, scorpion-grass, little bluestem, and big bluestem. [11]
Mating can start as early as late April but peaks in mid-May. [8] Males will sing from the cover of dense grasses, perched on tall grass or in flight. [2] Clutches range from two to six eggs with four being the most common. [2] Incubation is done solely by the female, though both parents aid in feeding. [10] Incubation lasts an average of 11–13 days. [2] Hatchlings are altricial with dull brown downy patches. [3] [12] Pairs will have one or two broods per year. [10] Due to the secretive nature of this bird little is known about the period of time between hatching and fledging. [12]
Nests are built by the female and are cup shaped, made from fine grasses and lined with soft grass and hair. [3] [12] They are usually attached to standing grasses or sedges and are built on or close to the ground. [2] [12] Their nests are often parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater). [2]
Eggs are 18 X 14 mm long and are sub elliptical in shape. [12] Eggs are white with undertones of green, grey or blue; covered in fine brown dots, speckles or splotches usually clustered near large end of egg. [12]
The northern harrier, also known as the marsh hawk or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA.
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: Kansas, Montana, 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 Savannah sparrow is a small New World sparrow that is the only member of the genus Passerculus. It is a widespread and abundant species that occupies open grassland habitats in North America.
The lark sparrow is a fairly large New World sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Chondestes.
Lincoln's sparrow is a small sparrow native to North America. It is a less common passerine bird that often stays hidden under thick ground cover, but can be distinguished by its sweet, wrenlike song. Lincoln's sparrow is one of three species in the genus Melospiza which also includes the song sparrow and the swamp sparrow. It lives in well-covered brushy habitats, often near water. This bird is poorly documented because of its secretive nature and breeding habits solely in boreal regions.
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.
The vesper sparrow is a medium-sized New World sparrow. The only member of the genus Pooecetes, it is a pale sparrow with brown streaks that breeds across the grasslands of northern North America. It migrates to winter in the southern United States and Mexico.
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.
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.
Ammodramus is a genus of birds in the family Passerellidae, in the group known as American sparrows. Birds of this genus are known commonly as grassland sparrows. The name Ammodramus is from the Greek for "sand runner".
Harris's sparrow is a large sparrow. Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada, making it Canada's only endemic breeding bird. In the winter they migrate to the Great Plains states of the United States, from southern South Dakota to central Texas. The common name of this species commemorates the American amateur ornithologist Edward Harris (1799–1863).
Cassin's sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow.
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.
The seaside sparrow is a species of American sparrow.
Nelson's sparrow is a small New World sparrow.
The saltmarsh sparrow is a small New World sparrow found in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States. At one time, this bird and the Nelson's sparrow were thought to be a single species, the sharp-tailed sparrow. Because of this, the species was briefly known as the "saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow." Saltmarsh sparrow numbers are declining due to habitat loss largely attributed to human activity.
New World sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns.
