Species
Saltmarsh sparrow
Ammospiza caudacuta
A declining sparrow of tidal marshes, whose nests are flooded more often as seas rise.
Photo Zac Peterson (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 12 to 14 cm long
- Weight
- About 17 to 23 g
- Habitat
- Salt marshes in winter
- Diet
- Insects and seeds
- In Georgia
- A winter visitor in coastal marshes
- Voice
- Mostly quiet in winter
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Orange face with a grey cheek; sharp dark streaks on the breast
- Told apart from
- Nelson's sparrow, which has blurrier streaks
- Where to look
- Salt marsh edges at high tide in winter
Behaviour
Saltmarsh sparrows live entirely in tidal marshes and time their nesting between the highest tides.
Why they matter
The saltmarsh sparrow is one of the most threatened songbirds in North America; rising seas flood its nests more often, and its population may collapse within decades. Georgia's marshes are an important winter home.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A cup in marsh grass, just above typical high tides
Eggs — Usually three to five
Incubation — About 11 to 12 days
Chicks — Fed by the female
Lifespan — A few years
Living around people
- Protecting marshes and leaving room for them to move inland helps these sparrows.
Misconceptions
- Sea-level rise is a distant threat. For the saltmarsh sparrow it is already happening.
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 northern marshes | Nesting | Nesting | Nesting | Migrating | Arriving | Wintering | Wintering |
Where it lives
Recorded in 14 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
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