Species
Henslow's sparrow
Centronyx henslowii
A shy, olive-headed sparrow of damp grasslands whose song is a tiny hiccup 'tsi-lick'.
Photo Dan Vickers (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 12 to 13 cm long
- Weight
- About 11 to 15 g
- Habitat
- Wet grassy fields and pine savannas in winter
- Diet
- Seeds and insects
- In Georgia
- An uncommon winter visitor
- Voice
- A short, hiccupping "tsi-lick"
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Large, flat head; olive face; streaked breast; rusty wings
- Told apart from
- Grasshopper sparrow, which has an unstreaked breast
- Where to look
- Damp grassy fields and burned pine savannas in winter
Behaviour
Henslow's sparrows run through grass rather than flying and are very hard to see.
Why they matter
Henslow's sparrows declined sharply as grasslands were lost. They depend on fire-maintained grasslands and pine savannas in winter.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A cup on or near the ground in dense grass
Eggs — Usually three to five
Incubation — About 11 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Lifespan — A few years
Living around people
- Prescribed fire keeps their winter habitat open.
Misconceptions
- Birds that do not fly away are tame. Henslow's sparrows run and hide instead.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Wintering | Wintering | Wintering | Leaving | Nesting farther north | Nesting | Nesting | Present in the north | Migrating | Arriving | Wintering | Wintering |
Where it lives
Recorded in 28 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
- Alabamain winter
- Arkansasin winter
- Floridain winter
- Georgiain winter
- Illinoisbreeding
- Indianabreeding
- Iowabreeding
- Kansasbreeding
- Kentuckybreeding
- Louisianain winter
- Mainebreeding
- Marylandbreeding
- Michiganbreeding
- Minnesotabreeding
- Mississippiin winter
- Missouribreeding
- Nebraskabreeding
- New Jerseybreeding
- New Yorkbreeding
- North Carolinabreeding
- North Dakotabreeding
- Ohiobreeding
- Oklahomabreeding
- Pennsylvaniabreeding
- South Dakotabreeding
- Tennesseebreeding
- West Virginiabreeding
- Wisconsinbreeding
If you found one
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