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Savannah Sparrow
last update: Mar 25, 2009 03:15 PM
Latin name: Passerculus sandwichensis
Population: 82 million individuals
Cites classified: Lest Concern
Where found: Alaska, northern Canada (including the southern Arctic Islands), southern Canada, and the northern US
Age/ life expectancy: unknown
Wingspan: 22-25 cm
Length: 14-16 cm
Weight: 16-24 g
Mating/Breeding: The male sings to defend his territory and attract a mate. Polygyny is common in many populations, but many are monogamous. If both members of a pair survive, they are likely to re-pair in the following year. The female builds the nest on the ground, usually in a depression and well hidden in thick grass or under matted-down plants. Overhanging vegetation may act as a tunnel, giving the nest a side entrance. The nest itself is an open cup made of coarse grass and lined with finer grass. The female incubates the 4 to 5 eggs for 10 to 13 days. Both parents help brood and feed the young, which leave the nest at 10 to 12 days of age. The fledglings run short distances, but can't fly well for another week or so. The parents continue to feed and tend the young until they are about three weeks old.
Eggs: 2-6 pale green, pale blue, or cream eggs, spotted or speckled brown
Hibernation: migrates to the southern US, Central America, and the Caribbean islands
Hunting Habits: forages on the ground and low branches
Feed on: seeds, fruits, and invertebrates
Predators: gulls and crows
Colour/Body: This species has a typically sparrow-like dark-streaked brown back, and whitish underparts with brown or blackish breast and flank streaking. It has a yellowish or whitish crown and eyebrow stripes. The cheeks are brown and the throat white.
Subspecies: The different forms vary principally in the darkness of the plumage, with Alaskan and interior races the palest, and southwestern coastal forms the darkest; by and large this agrees with the new species limits. P. s. labradorius breeds in Newfoundland, Labrador, and N Quebec; P. s. oblitus breeds in N Ontario and Manitoba; P. s. savanna (Eastern Savannah Sparrow) breeds in the NE USA and adjacent Canada (includes P. s. mediogriseus); P. s. sandwichensis (Aleutian Savannah Sparrow) breeds on the Aleutian Islands and W Alaskan Peninsula; P. s. anthinus breeds in the remainder of Alaska, south and east to central British Columbia and north of the Great Plains to Manitoba; P. s. brooksi (Dwarf Savannah Sparrow) breeds in southernmost British Columbia to northernmost California; P. s. alaudinus breeds in coastal northern and central California; P. s. nevadensis breeds in the N Great Plains and the Great Basin; P. s. brunnescens breeds from central Mexico south to Guatemala (includes P. s. rufofuscus); Ipswich Sparrow: Formerly considered a distinct species, some post-breeding dispersal, P. s. princeps breeds almost exclusively on Sable Island. The Ipswich Sparrow is somewhat larger and paler in colour than other eastern Savannah Sparrows. The breast streaks are narrower and pale brown. Some birds overwinter on the island; others migrate south along the Atlantic coast, usually departing later and returning sooner than mainland birds. Some birds interbreed with P. s. savanna in Nova Scotia. These birds frequently raise three broods in a year. This bird was first observed in winter on the dunes near the town of Ipswich, Massachusetts.
Interesting Trivia:
- In many parts of the species' range, especially in coastal areas and islands, Savannah Sparrows tend very strongly to return each year to the area where they hatched. This tendency, called natal philopatry, is the driving force for differentiation of numerous Savannah Sparrow subspecies.
