Ammodramus savannarum

A chunky sparrow with a short narrow tail, flat head, buffy breast and sides (adults usually without obvious streaking), dark crown with a pale central stripe, narrow white eye ring, and (in most adults) a yellow-orange spot in front of the eye; juveniles have pale buff breast and sides, streaked with brown; average length 13 cm (NGS 1983).

Differs from many other sparrows in having both an unstreaked buffy breast (adults) and a short tail. Differs from Le Conte's sparrow (AMMODRAMUS LECONTEII) in lacking a buffy-orange eyebrow and blue-gray ear patch. Adult differs from juvenile Henslow's sparrow (AMMODRAMUS HENSLOWII) in lacking a yellowish-olive central stripe on the crown. Juvenile lacks the olive and russet tones of the otherwise similar adult Henslow's sparrow.

BREEDING: Prefer grasslands of intermediate height and are often associated with clumped vegetation interspersed with patches of bare ground (Bent 1968, Blankespoor 1980, Vickery 1996). Other habitat requirements include moderately deep litter and sparse coverage of woody vegetation (Smith 1963, Bent 1968, Wiens 1969, Kahl et al. 1985, Arnold and Higgins 1986). Breed in both native and tame grassland vegetation (Kendeigh 1941, Birkenholz 1973, Whitmore 1979, Sample 1989, Wilson and Belcher 1989, Madden 1996), including native prairie, Conservation Reserve Program fields, pasture, hayland, airports, and reclaimed surface mines (Wiens 1973, Ducey and Miller 1980, Whitmore 1980, Kantrud 1981, Renken 1983, Renken and Dinsmore 1987, Bollinger 1988, Frawley and Best 1991, Johnson and Schwartz 1993, Berthelsen and Smith 1995, Hull et al. 1996, Patterson and Best 1996, Delisle and Savidge 1997, Prescott 1997). Occasionally inhabit cropland, such as corn and oats, but at a fraction of the densities found in grassland habitats (Smith 1963, Smith 1968, Ducey and Miller 1980, Basore et al. 1986, Faanes and Lingle 1995, Best et al. 1997).

In South Dakota, preferred large patches of appropriate grassland habitat; in landscapes not dominated by grassland, occupancy rate of patches greater than 50 hectares was 67%, whereas occupancy rate of smaller patches was only 12%. The preference still existed in landscapes dominated by grasslands, although the difference was not as dramatic: 50% in large patches, 40% in small patches (Bakker et al. 2002).

NON-BREEDING: Grass-dominated fields, native prairie (Florida), and grazed pastures (Mexico and Belize) (Vickery 1996).

Average territory size is small (< 2 ha) (George 1952, Wiens 1969, Ducey and Miller 1980).

Arrive on the breeding grounds in mid-April and depart for the wintering grounds in mid-September (George 1952, Bent 1968, Smith 1968, Stewart 1975, Vickery 1996). In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, they arrive later (mid-May) and leave earlier (August) (Knapton 1979). Throughout most of their range, are able to produce two broods, one in late May and a second in early July (George 1952, Smith 1968, Vickery 1996). However, in the northern part of its range, one brood is probably most common; in Maine, no territories showed evidence of successfully fledging two broods and double-broodedness in Wisconsin is uncommon (Vickery et al. 1992, Wiens 1969). Frequently renest after nest failure, and if unsuccessful in previous attempts, may renest 3-4 times during the breeding season (Vickery 1996).