05/15/2026
Not just another sparrow 💛
The Savannah Sparrow is a small, compact sparrow, 12–15 cm (5–6 in.) long, with a short neck, slim pointed bill, and short, slightly notched tail.
This tiny sparrow is brown overall, with heavy streaking. Its pale underparts are streaked across the chest and sides. This migratory bird has a striped brown, black, and buff back. (Now that's a tongue 👅 twister!)
The best field marking of the Savannah Sparrow is the yellow or pale yellow patch in front of the eye. The head also shows a pale eyebrow stripe, dark crown stripes, and a thin dark eyeline.
Savannah Sparrows are usually found on or near the ground, running through grass rather than flying, but they often sing from fence posts or tall grass stems.
Their song is a quick series of buzzy notes, often rendered as “tsit-tsit-tsit-seee-zurrrr.” These birds can be found in native prairie, hay fields, pastures, wet meadow edges, and roadside grasses.
Savannah Sparrows are referred to as "medium migrators." These nocturnal migrators fly south from September to early November, and return to their breeding grounds between February and May.
Savannah Sparrows nest on the ground in the long grassland habitats. As they prefer thick vegetation, they often return to the same breeding area year after year.
They nest in Alaska, Canada and the northern states. If you have these birds nesting on your land, they are likely to return. They nest from April to August, with a clutch size of 3 to 5 pale green, blue or white eggs with red or reddish-brown spots. They will have up to 3 broods in a season.
We want to use your photos for our ever-changing profile photo! If you have a photo you'd like us to use, please post it below or message it to us. These ground nesting birds remind us of why "No Mow May" is a good policy that protects many species.
(Photo by Rich Pickering 📷)
