Le Conte's Sparrow

Overview

Le Conte's Sparrow: Small sparrow, brown-streaked back, brown-streaked gray nape, pale gray underparts with streaks on sides, pale yellow breast. Head is flat with brown stripes. Face is pale yellow-orange with gray cheeks. Legs, feet are pink-brown.

Range and Habitat

Le Conte's Sparrow: Breeds from Mackenzie and central Quebec south to northern Montana, Minnesota, and northern Michigan. Spends winters in southeastern states. Prefers moist grasslands and boggy meadows; stays on dry fields in winter.

INTERESTING FACTS

Although the Le Conte's Sparrow was first discovered in 1790, the first nest was not found until nearly 100 years later.
Few have ever been banded. Of the 355 banded between 1967 and 1984, none were ever recovered.
This sparrow is almost impossible to flush, as it prefers running along the ground to flying.
A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a "crew", "flutter", "meinie", "quarrel", and "ubiquity" of sparrows.

The Le Conte's Sparrow is rated as Least Concern. This is a freshwater species that has a range of almost 3 million square kilometers. The population of Le Conte's Sparrow is estimated to be nearing 3 million individual birds. At this time Le Conte's Sparrow is not considered to be facing any immediate threats or dangers. The prior rating of this bird species was Lower Risk. The size of the range and population of this bird species are currently stable enough to warrant a Least Concern rating. It is native to Canada, the United States and Mexico.