Cassin's Sparrow

Peucaea cassinii

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesGrasslandCup nestSmall · 19 g

What the Cassin's Sparrow sounds like

Sonogram of the Cassin's Sparrow: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Diana Doyle · Song · Hereford, Cochise County, Arizona, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The sparrow has a long tail, gray-brown with white corners, and has dark marks on the back and sides. The species resembles Botteri's sparrow because of its size and marks, but Botteri's sparrow is a weaker shade of gray. The best way to tell the differences between the two is the song of Cassin's sparrow. Both the males and females are the same shade of gray and are 5 to 6 inches, although males are bigger. The Cassin's sparrow is a fairly large, plain, grayish sparrow that lacks conspicuous markings. Voice: The sparrow's song sounds like titi-trrrrrrrrrrr, tyew tyew. Only the males sing and the males are known for flying in the air and gliding down while singing which is called "skylarking". Males of the species are one of only a few sparrows known to skylark.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Cassin's Sparrow

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 6 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Cassin's Sparrow

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 2 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Canada, Costa Rica.

About the Cassin's Sparrow

Cassin's sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Cassin's Sparrow vs Rufous-winged Sparrow · Cassin's Sparrow vs Stripe-headed Sparrow

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