From Opus

Spizella pusilla

Photo by richard bledsoe
Photographed: Village Creek State Park, Arkansas.

[edit] Identification

• Brown upperparts
• Light brown breast
• White belly
• Wing bars
• Forked tail
• Gray face
• Rusty crown
• White eye ring
• Pink bill

[edit] Distribution

These birds are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range. Northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico.

[edit] Taxonomy

Polytypic. Consists of two subspecies:

• S. p. arenacea (Chadbourne, 1886)
• S. p. pusilla (A. Wilson, 1810)

[edit] Habitat

Their breeding habitat is shrubby fields across eastern North America.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation, mainly eating insects and seeds. They may feed in small flocks outside of the nesting season.

[edit] Breeding

The nest is an open cup on the ground under a clump of grass or in a small thicket.

[edit] External Links