Savannah Sparrow
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.
● Song:
"zit-zit-zit-zeeee-zaaay", "seep"
● Foraging & Feeding:
Savannah Sparrow: Feeds on seeds, insects, spiders, and sometimes snails. Forages on the ground or in low bushes; scratches in dirt and foliage.
● Breeding & nesting:
Savannah Sparrow: Two to six pale green blue or white eggs marked with brown are laid on the ground in a cup nest made of moss and dry grass, and lined with fine hair, fine grass, and roots. Incubation ranges from 10 to 13 days and is carried out by both parents.
● Similar species:
Savannah Sparrow: Song Sparrow has a longer, rounded tail without notch, underparts have heavier streaking, and lacks yellow in lores and supercilium. Vesper Sparrow has gray-brown streaking on upperparts, throat, breast, and sides; wing has chestnut patch at bend; white eye ring; brown ear patch.
● Range & 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.