Savannah Sparrow

Overview

Savannah Sparrow: Small sparrow, dark-streaked, gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, heavy streaks on breast and sides. Head has a brown crown with pale central stripe and pale yellow or white eyebrows. Brown wings have two pale bars. Tail is short and notched. Pink legs and feet.

Range and Habitat

Savannah Sparrow: Breeds from Alaska east to Labrador and south to New Jersey, Missouri, and northern Mexico. Spends winters regularly north to southeastern Alaska and Massachusetts. Found in salt marshes, grasslands, tundra, mountain meadows, sandy regions, and short-grass prairies.

INTERESTING FACTS

Savannah Sparrows are able runners; once discovered, they drop into the grass and dart away.
It is named after Savannah, Georgia, where one of the first specimens of this bird was collected.
The "Ipswich Savannah Sparrow," a subspecies that breeds on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, is nearly 50 percent heavier than most other subspecies. It was formerly considered a separate species.
A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a "crew", "flutter", "meinie", "quarrel", and "ubiquity" of sparrows.

The Savannah Sparrow has a large range, estimated globally at 14,000,000 square kilometers. Native to North and Central America and nearby island nations, this bird prefers marine, grassland, wetland, and shrubland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 82,000,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Savannah Sparrow is Least Concern.