Clay-Colored Sparrow
Spizella pallida
Also known as: Clay-Coloured Sparrow
About This Species
A small sparrow of shrubby grassland, brushy prairie, and open scrub across central North America, often detected by its distinctive buzzy, insect-like song given from a low perch. It forages on the ground and in low vegetation for seeds and insects, and prefers areas with a mix of grass and scattered shrubs rather than dense woodland. Late spring through summer, on its breeding grounds, is the best time to find singing males.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Stay on trails through grassland and shrub habitat where it breeds, since ground nests among low vegetation are easily trampled and difficult to see.
- It is protected under migratory bird law in the United States and Canada, which prohibits taking or disturbing nests, though exact buffer distances are not specified, so back away promptly if an adult begins giving alarm calls or a distraction display.
- Avoid walking through dense shrubby patches during the breeding season when nests are most likely to be present.
LCAvesPasseriformesPasserellidae
Seasonal Activity
585,093 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
Photo
(c) Greg Lasley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Greg Lasley
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.