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GrasslandCup nestSmall · 26 g
What the Vesper Sparrow sounds like
ID tip
The vesper sparrow is 14–16 cm (5.5–6.3 in) in overall length and weighs 19.5–28.3 g (0.69–1.00 oz). Adults have light brown upper-parts and light under-parts, both with darker streaking. There are three features that are unique to the vesper sparrow. The first is the presence of a small, white ring surrounding the eyes. The second is the flash of white tail feathers seen during flight. The third is the presence of a chestnut patch on the shoulder. However, this is usually not visible to an observer.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Vesper Sparrow
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 11 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Vesper Sparrow
The map shades 4 countries with regular records, and 3 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 Bahamas, Cayman Islands, St. Pierre & Miquelon.
About the Vesper Sparrow
The vesper sparrow is a medium-sized New World sparrow. The only member of the genus Pooecetes, it is a pale sparrow with brown streaks that breeds across the grasslands of northern North America. It migrates to winter in the southern United States and Mexico.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Lark SparrowChondestes grammacusThe lark sparrow is distinctive.
Clay-colored SparrowSpizella pallidaThe clay-colored sparrow or clay-coloured sparrow is a small New World sparrow of North America.
Abert's TowheeMelozone abertiAbert's towhee is a bird of the family Passerellidae, native to a small range in southwestern North America, generally the lower Colorado River and Gila River watersheds, nearly endemic to Arizona, but also present in small parts of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Sonora in Mexico.
Side by side: Lark Sparrow vs Vesper Sparrow
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