Species
Seaside sparrow
Ammospiza maritima
A dark, olive-grey sparrow of salt marshes that eats crabs and insects among the cordgrass.
Photo Laura Mae (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 13 to 15 cm long
- Weight
- About 20 to 28 g
- Habitat
- Salt marshes
- Diet
- Insects, spiders, small crabs and seeds
- In Georgia
- A common resident of coastal salt marshes
- Voice
- A buzzy "cut-cut-zhee-errr"
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Dark olive-grey; yellow spot in front of the eye; white throat; long bill
- Told apart from
- Saltmarsh and Nelson's sparrows, which have orange faces
- Where to look
- Salt marsh cordgrass
Behaviour
Seaside sparrows walk on mud and among cordgrass, picking insects and small crabs.
Why they matter
Seaside sparrows live only in salt marshes, and their survival depends on marshes keeping pace with rising seas. One Florida subspecies, the dusky seaside sparrow, went extinct in 1987 after its marshes were altered.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A cup in cordgrass above the high-tide line
Eggs — Usually three or four
Incubation — About 11 to 13 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about 9 to 11 days
Lifespan — A few years
Living around people
- Salt marshes need room to move inland as seas rise; development at their edges prevents it.
Misconceptions
- Sparrows are only land birds. Seaside sparrows live in salt marshes.
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 | Resident in marshes | Present | Singing | Nesting | Nesting | Second broods | Young fledging | Present | Present | Present | Present | Present |
Where it lives
Recorded in 17 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.
I found an animal