From Opus

Photo by dmbucb
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, April 2006

Passerculus sandwichensis

Includes: Large-billed Sparrow

[edit] Identification

4.75 inches

• Conical bill
• Short, forked tail
• Yellow to white supercilium
• Thin, white central crown stripe
• Dark brown to grey-brown upperparts with dark streaks
• White underparts with dark streaks
• Sexes similar

[edit] Distribution

North America. Summers from the lower-middle latitudes of the U.S. through the lower provinces of Canada. Resident populations in Mexico and Guatemala. Migrates to the southern states and Mexico in winter. Missing along the west coast.

[edit] Taxonomy

Polytypic, more than 20 subspecies recognized.
Rostratus and atratus from Mexico are sometimes split as Large-billed Sparrow, Passerculus rostratus.
P. s. sanctorum from San Benito Island is called San Benito Sparrow, a group of four races around the Baja California are known as Belding's Sparrow.

[edit] Habitat

Open fields with fairly short vegetation and grasslands.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

Forages on the ground. The diet includes mainly seeds, but insects are also eaten in the breeding season.

[edit] Breeding

They nest on the ground, laying 3-6 eggs in a cup nest sheltered by a clump of grass or other vegetation.

[edit] References

• List of references

[edit] External Links