Species
Nelson's sparrow
Ammospiza nelsoni
A small, orange-faced sparrow that winters in Georgia's salt marshes.
Photo Remydee1 (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 11 to 13 cm long
- Weight
- About 15 to 20 g
- Habitat
- Salt marshes in winter
- Diet
- Insects and seeds
- In Georgia
- A common winter visitor in coastal marshes
- Voice
- Mostly quiet in winter
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Orange face; grey cheek; blurry streaks on buff sides
- Told apart from
- Saltmarsh sparrow, which has sharper streaks and a more contrasting face
- Told apart from
- Seaside sparrow, which is dark grey
- Where to look
- Salt marsh edges at high tide
Behaviour
Nelson's sparrows hide in marsh grass, appearing briefly at the tops of stems.
Why they matter
Nelson's sparrows breed in northern marshes and prairies and winter in coastal salt marshes. They rely on healthy marshes at both ends of their migration.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A cup in marsh grass
Eggs — Usually three to five
Incubation — About 11 days
Chicks — Fed by the female
Lifespan — A few years
Living around people
- Marsh loss affects their winter habitat.
Misconceptions
- All marsh sparrows are the same. Nelson's, saltmarsh and seaside sparrows are separate species.
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 in the north | Nesting | Nesting | Present in the north | Migrating | Arriving | Wintering | Wintering |
Where it lives
Recorded in 41 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
- Alabamain winter
- Connecticutpassing through
- Delawarein winter
- Floridain winter
- Georgiain winter
- Illinoispassing through
- Iowapassing through
- Kansaspassing through
- Louisianain winter
- Mainebreeding
- Marylandin winter
- Massachusettsin winter
- Minnesotabreeding
- Mississippiin winter
- Missouripassing through
- Montanabreeding
- Nebraskapassing through
- New Hampshirebreeding
- New Jerseyin winter
- New Yorkpassing through
- North Carolinain winter
- North Dakotabreeding
- Ohiopassing through
- Rhode Islandpassing through
- South Carolinain winter
- South Dakotabreeding
- Texasin winter
- Vermontpassing through
- Virginiain winter
- Wisconsinpassing through
If you found one
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