Ammodramus nelsoni
Its hard to find a Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow without getting your feet wet. As a species of marshy areas, these colorful sparrows unexpectedly pop out of their soggy hiding places, occasionally perching completely exposed at close distances. These birds have a very unusual breeding strategy: males rove around the marsh mating with all available females. Both sexes are promiscuous, and this sparrow does not establish pair bonds or territories. Edward William Nelson was the chief of the U.S. Biological Survey and president of the American Ornithologists' Union. When he was 17, he traveled to the Rockies, but his greatest contribution was the creation of the Migratory Bird Treaty, still in effect today. |
I.D.: Sexes similar: orangish face; gray cheek; gray nape; lightly streaked breast; white stripes on the back; light bill. Size: L 5-53/4 in. (13-15 cm). Range: very rare migrant along the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies. Habitat: marshlands with tall emergent and shoreline vegetation. Nesting: typically across the Canadian prairies; on the ground or low in upright grass or sedge stems; bulky cup nest is woven with dry grass and sedges and lined with fine materials; female incubates 3-5 eggs for 11 days. Feeding: runs or walks along the ground gleaning ants, beetles, grasshoppers and often invertebrates; also eats seeds. Voice: raspy ts tse-sheeeee. Similar Species: LeConte's Sparrow: lacks the gray nape and the white stripes on the back. Grasshopper Sparrow: lacks the streaking on the breast. Savannah Sparrow: yellow is restricted to the lores. |
