Cabanis's Ground Sparrow
Melozone cabanisi
The Cabanis's Ground Sparrow (Melozone cabanisi) is a rare new world sparrow found only in Costa Rica, weighing about 28 g. Cabanis's ground sparrow or the Costa Rican ground sparrow is a Near Threatened species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows.
About the Cabanis's Ground Sparrow
Cabanis's ground sparrow or the Costa Rican ground sparrow is a Near Threatened species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is endemic to Costa Rica.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Cabanis's ground sparrow is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a black forecrown. The rest of their crown and their ear coverts are chestnut or chestnut-rufous; the latter have a thin U-shaped black line around their bottom half. They have white lores, a white eye-ring, and white cheeks, chin, and throat with a thin black "moustache". Their back, scapulars, rump, uppertail coverts, wings, and tail are olive or olive-brown, though their nape, upper back, and lesser wing coverts are somewhat grayish. Voice: The song of Cabanis's ground sparrow is "a high, thin, staccato sputter, a buzzy note, and/or a slow trill followed by 3-4 clear, forceful whistles: Pst-t-t-t peee-peer-peer, bzeew whee-whee-whee, or bzeew tow-hewhewhewhe peer-peer-peer-pee". Its calls include "weak, high, staccato, tsit notes", a sharp whistled "pseee psee psee", and a "sharp, thin pseeer".
Where it lives
When to see it
The Cabanis's Ground Sparrow can be seen all year round, with peak activity in March. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Cabanis's Ground Sparrow?
- Cabanis's ground sparrow is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Cabanis's Ground Sparrow?
- The Cabanis's Ground Sparrow is a small sized bird weighing about 28 g.
- Where can you see a Cabanis's Ground Sparrow?
- The Cabanis's Ground Sparrow is endemic to Costa Rica, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Cabanis's Ground Sparrow?
- The Cabanis's Ground Sparrow is most easily confused with the Rusty-crowned Ground Sparrow, the Prevost's Ground Sparrow and the White-throated Towhee.
- Is the Cabanis's Ground Sparrow endangered?
- The Cabanis's Ground Sparrow is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Cabanis's Ground Sparrow for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.