The Savannah Sparrow

Alexander Wilson found a sparrow when in Savannah, Georgia and named the bird the Savannah Sparrow even though they are grassland loving bird, found in estuaries between late April and mid-October.

Savannah Sparrows have a rounded head. The area between the Savannah Sparrow's eyes and beak is colored yellow and they display a tan eye ring. Their crown has a dark band, dark eyeliner, a moustache and a white chin. The chest and back of the sparrow are striped. The streaking on their wings and breast sometimes blend into a middle spot. Their legs and feet have a pale pinkish color.

The Savannah Sparrow has a very broad range across North America. In the tundra at the northern extent of the range, Savannah Sparrows prefer dwarf willows and birches. In its southern habitat bird watchers observe them in moist grassland and hay fields. Sparrows that inhabit the coast lines live in salt swamps or in dune grasses.

During the breeding season birders see the Savannah Sparrow across Alaska and the provinces of Canada. Also birders observe the Savannah Sparrow in the midwestern states and into Mexico. It occurs in salt marshes in Southern California and Northwestern Baja California.

The female constructs a nest of grass in a hollow on the ground. The sparrow hides its nest in tall grass or thickest. The birds enter the nest from the sides. It nests on the ground sheltered with a canopy of grass in a cup nest made of grass in May and June.

During nesting season the sparrow will protect their nests by perching on low shrubs squeaking at trespassers. This makes it easy to photograph them. They are a tiny bird and prefer people do not come nearer than about fifty feet, so a telephoto lens is often useful.

Large wetlands where the birds nest succeeded in increasing the sparrow population, while small, isolated marshes do not add to their population.

After mating the female Savannah Sparrow lays three or four bluish white or grayish white eggs. The eggs when laid have splotches of brown or lavender spots. Both the male and female incubate the eggs together for almost fourteen days. The young Savannah Sparrows begin to fly about fourteen days after hatching.

When the winter weather begins to come around the Savannah Sparrows begins migrating south from Canada and Alaska to the Southern United States, The West Indies and Mexico. Some sparrows spend their winter in Central America. On the northern migration Savannah Sparrows return to the area where raised.

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