General

Clay-colored Sparrow: Medium-sized sparrow with black-streaked brown upperparts and buff underparts. Face is pale with finely streaked crown, crisp brown cheek patch, white eyestripe, and gray nape. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is heavily streaked with buff wash on face, flanks, and wings.

Range and Habitat

Clay-colored Sparrow: Breeds from north-central Canada and Great Lakes region south to Colorado and Michigan. Spends winters from southern Texas south. Preferred habitats include brushy grasslands and prairies.

Breeding and Nesting

Clay-colored Sparrow: Three to five blue green eggs, marked with dark brown and black, are laid in a bulky cup of hair-lined grass built in a bush or clump of weeds up to 6 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 10 to 12 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Clay-colored Sparrow: Diet consists of seeds and insects; forages on the ground or low in trees.

Readily Eats

Safflower, Apple Slices, Suet, Millet, Peanut Kernels, Fruit

Vocalization

Clay-colored Sparrow: Song is a series of 4 or 5 toneless, insect-like buzzes.

Similar Species

Clay-colored Sparrow: Brewer's Sparrow lacks white central crown stripe, dark cheek borders, distinct eye-line, and gray nape. Field Sparrow has pink bill, rust-brown crown, and white eye-ring. In fall and winter, Chipping Sparrow has more rust-brown on crown.