Grasshopper Sparrow

Ammodramus savannarum

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family EMBERIZIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A furtive bird of open grasslands, the Grasshopper Sparrow takes its name not only from its diet, but also from its insect-like song. It is found during the breeding season across much of the eastern United States and Great Plains, nesting and feeding mostly on the ground.

Cool Facts

• Twelve subspecies of Grasshopper Sparrow are recognized. Four breed in North America, four are resident in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador, and four are resident in the Caribbean.

• Grasshopper Sparrow parents prepare grasshoppers to feed to the nestlings by shaking off each pair of legs in turn.

Description

• Size: 11-12 cm (4-5 in)
• Weight: 14-20 g (0.49-0.71 ounces)

• Small songbird.
• Mostly brownish, with an unmarked buffy breast.
• Dark crown with a pale middle stripe.
• Large head.
• Short tail.

• Head appears flat.
• Nape gray with fine reddish brown streaks.
• Back has black and chestnut streaks.
• Eyes brown.
• Legs flesh-colored or yellowish.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Similar to adult, but with a band of streaks across breast.

Similar Species

• Henslow's Sparrow has a streaked chest, an olive nape, and two stripes on the lower face.
• LeConte's Sparrow has a broad, bright buff-orange eyebrow stripe, gray cheek patch, streaks on the chest, and white median crown stripe.
• Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow has white stripes on its back, an orange breast, and a gray cheek patch.
• Savannah and Baird's sparrows have streaks on their breasts.

Sound

Song is two staccato notes followed by a long, insect-like buzz. Second song, sometimes delivered in flight, is a long series of short buzzy notes. Call is a staccato double or triple ticking note.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from Alberta to New England southward to Texas and Georgia. Also breeds locally in Florida, southern Arizona, eastern Washington, southern Idaho, and California. Populations also resident in localized areas of the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America.

Winter Range

Winters from southern United States southward into Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean.

Habitat

Open grasslands and prairies with patches of bare ground.

Food

Mostly insects, especially grasshoppers.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages on the ground, locating prey by sight on bare ground. Paralyzes grasshopper by pinching its thorax.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Cup of grass stems and blades, very well concealed on the ground. Usually has a dome made of overhanging grasses, with a side entrance.

Egg Description

White with light reddish brown speckles.

Clutch Size

3-6 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Eyes closed, covered with grayish-brown down.

Conservation Status

Declining throughout range from habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation.

Other Names

Bruant sauterelle (French)
Gorrion chapulin, Gorrion chicharra (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Vickery, P. D. 1996. Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum). In The Birds of North America, No. 239 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists Union, Washington, D.C.