LeConte's sparrow

LeConte's sparrow is a small sparrow with a relatively large head, short grey bill and short pointed tail. It has a buffy yellow-orange face with grey cheeks, and a dark brown crown with a white central stripe. The nape of the neck is lilac grey with chestnut streaks, and the back is streaked with brown and beige. Its belly is off white, while the breast and sides are a buffy orange-yellow with dark brown streaks. The feet and legs are a brownish-pink colour. Measurements The measurements for both sexes are: ==Taxonomy==

LeConte's sparrow is a member of the order Passerifomes, which are the perching birds, sometimes less accurately referred to as the songbirds. It is from the family Passerellidae, which is characterized by species of small birds with bills adapted to seed eating. LeConte's sparrow was placed in the genus Ammodramus in the past and a molecular phylogeny of the related groups identified that genus as being polyphyletic and recommended the group to be split up. This species falls within the genus Ammospiza clade which includes A. maritimus, A. nelsoni, and A. caudacutus, which are the ground-loving sparrows that prefer staying in tall, thick grasses to perching on trees. There has been a recorded case of a LeConte's sparrow that hybridized with a Nelson's sparrow, in June 1949 in Ontario, Canada. It is generally believed that he meant John Lawrence LeConte (whose father had been an Army surveyor with the rank of major), although some feel that he was referring to another John LeConte, also a doctor, and John Lawrence's cousin. == Habitat and distribution ==

Range LeConte's sparrow breeds in select areas of Canada, such as northeastern British Columbia, across Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba as well as central Ontario and into Quebec; and as far south as northern Michigan, Montana and Minnesota. It winters in the southeastern United States; as far west as central Texas and as far north as central Illinois and Missouri. Habitat LeConte's sparrow prefers moist open grassy areas with sufficient vegetation cover to provide shelter. Known habitat use includes meadows, fields, crop stubble, shallow marshy edges, prairie, and occasionally fens and lake-shores within the boreal forest. Winter et al. (2005) says that it can be found at highest densities in areas with a "moderate amounts of bare ground". Agriculture and drainage of these areas is currently the greatest threat to LeConte's sparrow. ==Behaviour==

It is a very secretive bird that prefers to spend most of its time on the ground under the cover of tall grasses. When they do emerge they rarely fly more than a foot or two above the grass and often descend again within a few meters. Because it is so rarely seen, there are still many gaps in knowledge about LeConte's sparrow. Nests are often very hard to find, and individuals are more often identified by sound than by sight. For example, one survey of LeConte's sparrows identified 86 males by sound, but only 8 of those males by sight. During the winter time the main diet consists of seeds of grasses and weeds such as northern dropseed, Indian grass, yellow foxtail, panic-grass, scorpion-grass, little bluestem, and big bluestem. Pairs will have one or two broods per year. Due to the secretive nature of this bird little is known about the period of time between hatching and fledging. Nest Nests are built by the female and are cup shaped, made from fine grasses and lined with soft grass and hair. They are usually attached to standing grasses or sedges and are built on or close to the ground. Their nests are often parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater). Eggs Eggs are 18 X 14 mm long and are sub elliptical in shape. Eggs are white with undertones of green, grey or blue; covered in fine brown dots, speckles or splotches usually clustered near large end of egg. ==References==