Vesper Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Emberizidae
Genus:	Pooecetes Baird, 1858
Species:	P. gramineus
Binomial name
Pooecetes gramineus (Gmelin, 1789)

The Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) is a medium-sized American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Pooecetes.

Adults have light brown upperparts and light underparts, both with darker streaking. They have a white eye ring and a long dark brown tail which shows white outer feathers in flight.

Their breeding habitat is open grassy areas across most of North America. The nest is an open cup on the ground under a clump of grass.

These birds migrate to the southern and central United States and Mexico.

These birds forage on the ground, mainly eating insects and seeds. Outside the nesting season they often feed in small flocks.

The male sings from a higher perch, such as a shrub or fencepost, which indicates his ownership of the nesting territory. The musical song begins with two pairs of repeated whistled notes and ends in a series of trills, somewhat similar to that of the Song Sparrow.

This bird's numbers are declining in the eastern parts of its range due to habitat loss.

References

External links

• Vesper Sparrow - Pooecetes gramineus - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
• Vesper Sparrow Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology