Clay-colored sparrow

The clay-colored sparrow or clay-coloured sparrow (Spizella pallida) is a small New World sparrow of North America.

Adults have light brown upperparts and pale underparts, with darker streaks on the back. They have a pale crown stripe on a dark brown crown, a white line over the eyes, a dark line through the eyes, a light brown cheek patch and brown wings with wing bars. The short bill is pale with a dark tip and the back of the neck is grey; they have a long tail. Non-breeding adults and immature resemble chipping sparrows and Brewer's sparrows; they often form flocks with these birds outside the nesting season.

Their breeding habitat is shrubby open areas and jack pine woods across central Canada and central northern United States east to the Great Lakes, and is expanding further eastward. The nest is an open cup on the ground or low in a shrub.

These birds migrate in flocks to southern Texas and Mexico.

They forage on the ground, mainly eating seeds and insects. Outside the nesting season, they often feed in small flocks. While nesting, these birds may feed far from the nest; feeding areas are not defended.

The male sings from an open perch to indicate his ownership of the nesting territory. The song is a Bzzzz bzzzz za za.

This bird's nests are made of grasses and lined with fine materials or hair. Three to five splotched blue-green eggs are laid and incubated for 11 days. They are often parasitized by the brown-headed cowbird; the nest may be abandoned when this happens.



Book

 * Knapton, R. W. 1994. Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida). In The Birds of North America, No. 120 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.

Thesis

 * Bakker KK. Ph.D. (2000). Avian occurrence in woodlands and grasslands on public areas throughout eastern South Dakota. South Dakota State University, United States, South Dakota.
 * Davis SK. Ph.D. (2003). Habitat selection and demography of mixed-grass prairie songbirds in a fragmented landscape. The University of Regina (Canada), Canada.
 * Giraldo Davila, Sebastian, and Gustavo Londono. “First Record of the Clay-Colored Sparrow (Passerellidae: Spizella Pallida) for South America.” Ornitologia Neotropical, vol. 30, 2019, pp. 85–87.
 * Grieef PM. M.Sc. (1995). Cues used by brood parasites and predators to locate nests. The University of Manitoba (Canada), Canada.
 * Hill DP. M.Sc. (1992). An experimental study of nest desertion by the clay-colored sparrow (Spizella pallida) in response to cowbird parasitism. The University of Manitoba (Canada), Canada.
 * Kerns CK. M.S. (2004). Passerine nest ecology in managed, mixed-grass prairie. University of Missouri - Columbia, United States, Missouri.
 * Knapton RW. Ph.D. (1978). BEHAVIOURAL ECOLOGY OF THE CLAY-COLORED SPARROW SPIZELLA PALLIDA. The University of Manitoba (Canada), Canada.
 * Romig GP. D.A. (1994). The impact of cowbird parasitism on a North Dakota population of clay-colored sparrows. The University of North Dakota, United States, North Dakota.

Articles
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 * Bakker KK, Naugle DE & Higgins KF. (2002). Incorporating landscape attributes into models for migratory grassland bird conservation. Conservation Biology. vol 16, no 6. pp. 1638–1646.
 * Benson A-M, Pogson TH & Doyle TJ. (2000). Updated geographic distribution of eight passerine species in central Alaska. Western Birds. vol 31, no 2. pp. 100–105.
 * Cosens SE & Falls JB. (1984). A Comparison of Sound Propagation and Song Frequency in Temperate Marsh and Grassland Habitats. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology. vol 15, no 3. pp. 161–170.
 * Cunningham MA, Johnson DH & Svingen DN. (2006). Estimates of breeding bird Populations in the Sheyenne National Grassland, North Dakota. Prairie Naturalist. vol 38, no 1. pp. 39–56.
 * Davis SK. (2003). Nesting ecology of mixed-grass prairie songbirds in southern Saskatchewan. Wilson Bulletin. vol 115, no 2. pp. 119–130.
 * Davis SK. (2004). Area sensitivity in grassland passerines: Effects of patch size, patch shape, and vegetation structure on bird abundance and occurrence in southern Saskatchewan. Auk. vol 121, no 4. pp. 1130–1145.
 * Davis SK, Brigham RM, Shaffer TL & James PC. (2006). Mixed-grass prairie passerines exhibit weak and variable responses to patch size. Auk. vol 123, no 3. pp. 807–821.
 * Forsyth DJ, Hinks CF & Westcott ND. (1994). FEEDING BY CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS ON GRASSHOPPERS AND TOXICITY OF CARBOFURAN RESIDUES. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. vol 13, no 5. pp. 781–788.
 * Ganier AF, Goodpasture KA, Laskey AR & Bierly M. (1969). Clay-Colored Sparrow in Hardin County. Migrant. vol 40, no 4. pp. 84–85.
 * Grant TA, Madden EM, Shaffer TL, Pietz PJ, Berkey GB & Kadrmas NJ. (2006). Nest survival of clay-colored and vesper sparrows in relation to woodland edge in mixed-grass prairies. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 70, no 3. pp. 691–701.
 * Grant TA, Shaffer TL, Madden EM & Pietz PJ. (2005). Time-specific variation in passerine nest survival: New insights into old questions. Auk. vol 122, no 2. pp. 661–672.
 * Grieef PM & Sealy SG. (2000). Simulated host activity does not attract parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater). Bird Behavior. vol 13, no 2. pp. 69–78.
 * Higgins KF, Arnold TW & Barta RM. (1984). Breeding Bird Community Colonization of Sown Stands of Native Grasses in North-Dakota USA. Prairie Naturalist. vol 16, no 4. pp. 177–182.
 * Hill DP & Sealy SG. (1994). Desertion of nests parasitized by cowbirds: Have clay-coloured sparrows evolved an anti-parasite defence?. Animal Behaviour. vol 48, no 5. pp. 1063–1070.
 * Hoag DJ. (1999). Hybridization between Clay-colored sparrow and Field sparrow in northern Vermont. Wilson Bulletin. vol 111, no 4. pp. 581–584.
 * Ingold JL & Woods PE. (1982). The Clay-Colored Sparrow Spizella-Pallida in Ohio USA a 3rd State Collection. Ohio Journal of Science. vol 82, no 4. pp. 211–213.
 * Johnson DH & Igl LD. (2001). Area requirements of grassland birds: A regional perspective. Auk. vol 118, no 1. pp. 24–34.
 * Knapton RW. (1978). Breeding Ecology of the Clay-Colored Sparrow Spizella-Pallida. Living Bird. vol 17, pp. 137–158.
 * Knapton RW. (1978). Sex and Age Determination in the Clay-Colored Sparrow. Bird Banding. vol 49, no 2. pp. 152–156.
 * Knapton RW. (1979). OPTIMAL SIZE OF TERRITORY IN THE CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, SPIZELLA-PALLIDA. Canadian Journal of Zoology-Revue Canadienne De Zoologie. vol 57, no 7. pp. 1358–1370.
 * Knapton RW. (1980). Nestling Foods and Foraging Patterns in the Clay-Colored Sparrow Spizella-Pallida. Wilson Bulletin. vol 94, no 4. pp. 458–465.
 * Knapton RW. (1982). GEOGRAPHIC SIMILARITY AND YEAR-TO-YEAR RETENTION OF SONG IN THE CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (SPIZELLA-PALLIDA). Behaviour. vol 79, pp. 189–200.
 * Madden EM, Hansen AJ & Murphy RK. (1999). Influence of prescribed fire history on habitat and abundance of passerine birds in northern mixed-grass prairie. Canadian Field-Naturalist. vol 113, no 4. pp. 627–640.
 * Madden EM, Murphy RK, Hansen AJ & Murray L. (2000). Models for guiding management of prairie bird habitat in northwestern North Dakota. American Midland Naturalist. vol 144, no 2. pp. 377–392.
 * Munson ES. (1992). Influence of Nest Cover on Habitat Selection in Clay-Colored Sparrows. The Wilson Bulletin. vol 104, no 3. p. 525.
 * Pietz PJ & Granfors DA. (2000). Identifying predators and fates of grassland passerine nests using miniature video cameras. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 64, no 1. pp. 71–87.
 * Pietz PJ & Granfors DA. (2000). White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) predation on grassland songbird nestlings. American Midland Naturalist. vol 144, no 2. pp. 419–422.
 * Pylypec B. (1991). IMPACTS OF FIRE ON BIRD POPULATIONS IN A FESCUE PRAIRIE. Canadian Field-Naturalist. vol 105, no 3. pp. 346–349.
 * Romig GP & Crawford RD. (1996). Clay-colored sparrows in North Dakota parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds. Prairie Naturalist. vol 27, no 4. pp. 193–203.
 * Schulte LS & Niemi GJ. (1998). Bird communities of early-successional burned and logged forest. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 62, no 4. pp. 1418–1429.
 * Simpson MBJ. (1968). Clay Colored Sparrow at Columbia South-Carolina USA Record. Chat. vol 32, no 3.
 * Sodhi NS. (1992). Comparison between urban and rural bird communities in prairie Saskatchewan: Urbanization and short-term population trends. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 106, no 2. pp. 210–215.
 * Waters A. (2000). First Clay-colored Sparrow for Augusta. Oriole. vol 65, no 1-2.
 * Wilson SD & Belcher JW. (1989). Plant and Bird Communities of Native Prairie and Introduced Eurasian Vegetation in Manitoba Canada. Conservation Biology. vol 3, no 1. pp. 39–44.
 * Winter M, Johnson DH & Shaffer JA. (2005). Variability in vegetation effects on density and nesting success of grassland birds. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 69, no 1. pp. 185–197.
 * Winter M, Johnson DH, Shaffer JA, Donovan TM & Svedarsky WD. (2006). Patch size and landscape effects on density and nesting success of grassland birds. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 70, no 1. pp. 158–172.
 * Winter M, Johnson DH, Shaffer JA & Svedarsky WD. (2004). Nesting biology of three grassland passerines in the northern tallgrass prairie. Wilson Bulletin. vol 116, no 3. pp. 211–223.