Ammodramus henslowii
adult
Henslow’s Sparrow is a boldly marked songbird with a proportionately large head. The sexes are similar. Adults have a reddish-brown back, the feathers with aligned pale margins. The tail and wings are reddish brown, and the wing coverts and tertials have broad rufous edges. The brown crown has a dark marginal line, and the buffish face has dark-framed ear coverts and a dark malar stripe that borders the white throat. The underparts are otherwise pale, suffused buff on the breast and with dark streaks on the breast and flanks. Juveniles are similar to an adult but paler and less strikingly marked.
Henslow’s Sparrow is present as a breeding species in eastern central North America, mainly from May to September. It migrates south in fall, and in winter it is found in southernmost southeast U.S.A. It is a hard species to observe, preferring to creep through vegetation rather than fly from danger. Look for it in the spring, when males sometimes sing from relatively open sites.
adult
FACT FILE
LENGTH 5 in (12.5 cm)
FOOD Mainly invertebrates, but some seeds in winter
HABITAT Overgrown, weedy fields with matted vegetation
STATUS Local and scarce summer visitor; local and scarce in winter
VOICE Song is a short, sharp tsi-lik. Call is a thin tsic
