Family: Emberizidae, New World Sparrows view all from this family

Description 4 1/2-5" (11-13 cm). A small, chunky grassland sparrow with clear buff breast and scaly-looking, dark rufous upperparts. Pale central stripe on crown; short, pointed tail.

Endangered Status The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, a subspecies of the Grasshopper Sparrow, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in Florida. This sparrow has suffered because of changes to its habitat. It requires a plant base of saw palmetto, very small dwarf oaks, bluestems, and wiregrass, and has declined in areas where the native vegetation it thrives in has been replaced with introduced pasture plants. Apparently it can survive in areas where the introduced plants are combined with the native plants and the livestock grazing is not too intensive.

Habitat Open grassy and weedy meadows, pastures, and plains.

Nesting 4 or 5 white eggs, speckled with red-brown, in a cup of grass, often domed, lined with rootlets and hair and placed on the ground.

Range Breeds from British Columbia, Manitoba, and New Hampshire south to Florida (rare), West Indies, and Mexico. Winters north to California, Texas, and North Carolina. 

Voice   A high-pitched, insect-like kip-kip-kip, zeeee, usually uttered from the top of a weed stalk.

Discussion This elusive sparrow-named for its buzzy song-is sensitive to subtle changes in its habitat. As soon as a weedy field becomes overgrown or trees have filled in an abandoned pasture, the Grasshopper Sparrow no longer uses the site for breeding. In some parts of the country it chooses different habitats, such as palmetto grasslands in Florida. Less of a seed-eater than our other grass sparrows, it feeds largely on insects. When flushed, this sparrow flies a short distance and drops out of sight, into tall grass.