General

Savannah Sparrow: Small sparrow with dark-streaked, gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, and heavy streaks on breast and sides. Head has a brown crown with pale central stripe and pale yellow or white eyebrows. Wings are brown with two pale bars. Tail is short and notched. Legs and feet are pink. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is darker.

Range and Habitat

Savannah Sparrow: Breeds from Alaska east to Labrador and south to New Jersey, Kentucky, and northern Mexico. Spends winters from Mexico regularly north to southwestern British Columbia and Massachusetts. Found in salt marshes, grasslands, tundra, mountain meadows, sandy regions, and short-grass prairies.

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and Feeding

Savannah Sparrow: Feeds on seeds, insects, spiders, and sometimes snails. Forages on the ground or in low bushes; scratches in dirt and foliage.

Vocalization

Savannah Sparrow: Song is mixture of chips and trills. The flight call is a thin "seep."

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.