General

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow: Small sparrow with pale-streaked gray back, white throat, heavily streaked buff breast and sides, and white belly. Head has a dark cap and eyestripe, thick, orange-brown eyebrows and gray ear patches. Wings are gray with orange-brown shoulders. Tail is brown and pointed. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is duller and has less gray.

Range and Habitat

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow: Uncommon to common and local in saltwater marshes along the Atlantic coast.

Breeding and Nesting

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow: Three to seven pale green eggs marked with red brown are laid in a nest made of reeds, grass, and seaweed, lined with finer materials, and built on the ground in grass or reeds. Eggs are incubated for 11 days by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow: Eats insects, seeds, small crustaceans, and snails; forages on the ground and in dense vegetation.

Readily Eats

Sunflower Seed, Commercial Mixed Bird Seed

Vocalization

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow: Song is a soft, insect like "ts-ts-ssssss-tsik", while call is a sharp "chuck."

Similar Species

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow: Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow has a shorter bill, less defined markings on head and around eye, and more intense buff on breast, sides, and flanks.