Savannah Sparrow
Passerculus sandwichensis
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Omnivore
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
20 g
About This Species
Scan open grassland, meadows, and coastal dunes across North America, where this streaky brown sparrow forages low to the ground or perches on low vegetation and fence posts to sing. Its thin, buzzy, insect-like song is a useful identifier even before the bird is located, and a yellowish tinge above the eye combined with fine breast streaking helps confirm the species once seen. Spring and early summer during the breeding season offer the best chance to hear singing males and observe territorial behavior in open fields.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep to field edges and paths rather than walking through grassland during the breeding season, since ground-nesting sparrows like this one are easily flushed and their nests are vulnerable to trampling and exposure.
- It is protected under federal migratory bird law across its US and Canadian breeding range, making disturbance of active nests unlawful as well as harmful.
- A distance of 10 metres or so with binoculars is generally enough to observe foraging and singing behavior without causing birds to flush repeatedly.
LCAvesPasseriformesPasserellidae
Seasonal Activity
3,892,373 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
Traits
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 20 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.