Savannah Sparrow Passercula sandwichensis
Panoche Valley, San Benito Co, California. January 2006

The Savannah Sparrow is a variable species with a very broad range. During the breeding season it is found in open habitats across Alaska and Canada south to the middle United States and in the west south to Mexico. In the tundra at the northern extent of the range, they are associated with dwarf willows and birches, while farther south they may be found in wet meadows, hay fields and pastures. Coastal populations (such as the distinctive “Belding’s” Savannah Sparrow of southern California) live in salt marshes or in dune grasses. Savannah Sparrows feed mainly on seeds found on the ground, but during the breeding season they take many insects, especially beetles. Birds in coastal marshes also eat small molluscs and crustaceans.

Pacific Coast and Mexican races are sedentary, but most Savannah Sparrows are migratory, leaving Canada and Alaska and wintering from the southern United States through the West Indies and Mexico, and as far south as northern Central America. Approximately 90 to 95 percent of returning birds breed in the locality where they were raised. (Adapted from Cornell University: Savannah sparrow)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All photographs © Charlie Moores