LeConte’s Sparrow 

LeConte’s Sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii) is one of the smallest & secretive new world bird species that live in North America.

About LeConte’s Sparrows

It’s a known fact that these sparrows prefer to spend most of their time on the ground under the cover of tall grasses. They are typically very difficult to flush, often only flushing at a distance of 1–3 meters as they prefer to run across the ground. When they finally make an appearance, they rarely fly more than a foot or two above the grass and often come down from time to time within a few meters. Since you don’t see these birds often, there is little knowledge of them. Their nests are often very hard to find, and more often identified or recognized by their sound, than by sight. This article will teach you a variety of things about the LeConte’s Sparrow. Today you will learn:

● LeConte’s Sparrow Photos, Color Pattern, Song
● LeConte’s SparrowSize, Eating behavior, Habitat
● LeConte’s Sparrow Range and Migration, Nesting

GET KIDS BIRD WATCHING

LeConte’s Sparrow Color Pattern

LeConte’s Sparrows are distinctively orange-buff all over, particularly on their heads and upper breasts. They have black streaks on their backs and wings and grayish-purple spots on the back of their necks. Their bellies are white and their bills are generally grey. They have a dark eyeline that is wider toward the backs of their heads. Their eyebrows tend to be lighter than the rest of their faces. Both males and females of the species look similar, and the juveniles do too. The only difference is that juveniles of the species have less distinct markings.

Description & Identification

LeConte’s Sparrow is a small bird yet has a relatively large head, short grey bill, and short pointed tail. It has a buffy yellow-orange face with grey cheeks and a dark brown crown with a white central stripe. The nape of the neck is lilac grey with chestnut streaks, and the back has streaks of brown and beige. Its belly is off-white, while the breast and sides are a buffy orange-yellow with dark brown streaks. The feet and legs are a brownish-pink color. The LeConte’s Sparrow has very distinct features, as sparrows go. The male and female look the same.

This strikingly beautiful Sparrow lives in wet meadows with tall grass. Look for the bright orange-buff face with a silvery cheek, spotted purplish-gray nape, and crisp black streaking on buffy underparts. They are secretive and difficult to see unless a male is perched up singing. Most similar to Nelson’s Sparrow but typically found in slightly drier habitats. Also, note the white stripe down the center of the crown on LeConte’s. Sings a dry, hissing trill with sharp introductory notes.

LeConte’s Sparrow is commonly mistaken for the Nelson’s Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sparrow, and Baird’s Sparrow.

LeConte’s Sparrow Song

The song of LeConte’s Sparrow is a weak insect-like buzzing. They also have a quiet but crisp chip call. The male’s song resembles a grasshopper buzz with a short squeaky introductory note and ending with a short chirp. It often sounds like “tika-zzzzzzzzzzzz-tik” while the call is a short “tsip”. It is most commonly confused with the song of Nelson’s Sparrow. The male generally sings from a remote location, but can also sing from the top of protruding grass stems, or occasionally in flight.

LeConte’s Sparrow Size

They are small and inconspicuous but beautifully patterned. The measurements for both sexes are the same. The length is 4.7 inches, the wingspan is 7.1 inches, and the weight is 0.4-0.6 ounces.  

The LeConte Sparrow’s eggs are 18 x 14 mm long and are sub-elliptical in shape. The eggs are white with undertones of green, grey, or blue. They have fine brown dots, speckles, or splotches all over, usually in clusters near the larger end of the egg.

LeConte’s Sparrow Behavior

Famously elusive and stubbornly stealthy. These secretive sparrows spend almost all of their time under the cover of dense vegetation. On the breeding grounds, nests are often in clumps near each other in patches of appropriate habitat.

Males sing from covered perches and sometimes sing in flight. Mated pairs are socially monogamous, but it’s not known how often individuals mate outside the pair. LeConte’s Sparrows seem to maintain territories in the winter as well, though their density is higher (and territories smaller) than on the breeding grounds.

LeConte’s Sparrow Diet

Le Conte’s Sparrows forage on the ground for insects and seeds in prairies or warm-season grass plantings. Diet in the summer is mostly insects such as weevils, leafhoppers, leaf beetles, stinkbugs, caterpillars, moths, and spiders. Like many birds, the diet during breeding season includes a greater percentage of insects and spiders.

During the wintertime, they shift more to grass and weed seeds. Their main diet consists of seeds, grasses, and weeds such as northern dropseed, Indian grass, yellow foxtail, panic-grass, scorpion-grass, little bluestem, and big bluestem.

LeConte’s Sparrow Habitat

The LeConte’s Sparrow is a difficult bird to see well, and almost never breaks cover. Much of the breeding range is remote, so your best opportunity to find one is on its wintering grounds. LeConte’s Sparrow is birds of damp meadows and shallow marshes. It stays hidden in dense grass, often running along the ground rather than flying. They’re so hard to find and track. They breed in wet meadows or the edges of marshes, in areas with damp soil or very shallow water and dense growth of grass, sedges, or rushes. During the winters they mostly breed in damp weedy fields, shallow freshwater marshes, coastal prairies.

Range and Migration

The LeConte’s Sparrow breeds in select areas of northeastern British Columbia, across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and southern Manitoba as well as central Ontario and into Quebec. They extend as far south as northern Michigan, Montana, and Minnesota.

It took scientists nearly 100 years longer to find and describe the first nest, although the species was officially described in 1790. These Sparrows migrate relatively late in fall and early in spring, with peak passage in many areas during October, March, and April. Rarely strays to the Atlantic or Pacific Coast, mostly in fall.

LeConte’s Sparrows are short-distance migrants, remaining within North America during their migratory cycle. They apparently migrate at night singly or widely spaced. Fall migration begins in September and birds usually arrive at wintering locations in November. The majority of species migrate through the Great Plains east to the Mississippi Valley. Records from California and the east coast are uncommon and considered vagrant young birds.

LeConte’s Sparrow Lifecycle

LeConte’s Sparrow numbers declined by about 2.6% per year between 1966 and 2015, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. This annual estimate works out to a cumulative decline of 73% in that time.  If the current rate of decline continues, LeConte’s Sparrow will lose another half of its population by 2060. The largest threat to their populations in the future is habitat degradation.

Since LeConte’s Sparrow requires areas with tall grasses and little woody vegetation, periodic disturbances like fire or haying are necessary to arrest succession and prevent encroachment of woody plants. There are no management strategies in place for LeConte’s Sparrow specifically, but any grassland protection combined with appropriate management will likely benefit this species.

Nesting

Their nests are very difficult to find. The male LeConte’s Sparrow defends its nesting territory by singing from a perch within tall grass may sing by day or night. The nest site is usually a few inches above the ground, sometimes on the ground, well hidden in areas with large amounts of dead grass, rushes, or sedges remaining from preceding seasons. The female builds the nest. They attach it to standing stems, which form an open cup of grass and rushes, lined with fine grass and sometimes with animal hair.

The nest of a LeConte’s Sparrow is a small cup, built of grasses, weed stems, and other vegetative material, and lined with finer grasses and hair. They are usually attached to standing grasses or sedges and are built on or close to the ground. Brown-headed Cowbirds are a parasite to this species’ nest.

Nestlings are fed by the female and possibly by the male. Their nest is on the ground in a protected area, such as the base of a clump of vegetation. The female lays 3 to 5 eggs, and she alone incubates them. The eggs hatch after 12-14 days.

Mating can start as early as late April but peaks in mid-May. Males will sing from the cover of dense grasses, perched on tall grass or in flight. Clutches range from two to six eggs with four being the most common. The female incubates, but both parents aid in feeding. Hatchlings are altricial with dull brown downy patches. Pairs will have one or two broods per year.

Anatomy of a LeConte’s Sparrow

LeConte’s Sparrows are small Sparrows with a relatively large head, short grey bill, and short pointed tail. It has a buffy yellow-orange face with grey cheeks and a dark brown crown with a white central stripe. The nape of the neck is lilac grey with chestnut streaks, and the back is streaked with brown and beige. Its belly is off-white, while the breast and sides are a buffy orange-yellow with dark brown streaks. The feet and legs are a brownish-pink color.

The adult LeConte’s Sparrow upperparts are streaked with black and buff on the back; the crown is dark brown with a narrow white central crown stripe. Their eyebrow is broad, orange-buff. There is a narrow, dark eye-line. Their cheek and nape are gray, with chestnut streaking on the nape. Underparts are white, with a broad, orange-buff breast band and dark steaks on the sides and flanks. This is a short- and sharp-tailed, weak-flying species. Young are duller, with pale back stripes, and faint.

Final Thoughts

The LeConte’s Sparrow is a difficult bird to see well, and almost never breaks cover. Famously elusive and stubbornly stealthy, the pumpkin-faced LeConte’s Sparrow acts more like a mouse than a bird. They are typically very difficult to flush as they prefer to run across the ground under the cover of tall grasses.

Much of the breeding range is remote, so your best opportunity to find one is on its wintering grounds. Look for them by walking through dense wet meadows (where allowed). Listen carefully for this bird’s high, sharp call note, and watch for anything that flushes, or better yet, pops up on top of a piece of grass for a brief moment, before disappearing again into the vegetation.

It spends much of its time foraging on the ground for seeds and insects, often scurrying rather than flying away from danger. Even singing males rarely climb into view. Because of conversion of grassland habitat. LeConte’s Sparrows are recognized for their declining population & have declined sharply since 1966. It is also known as LeConte’s Bunting. They were once known as “stink birds” because they were often chosen over quail by hunting dogs. They are much more commonly heard than seen. Very few LeConte’s have ever been banned. Between 1967 and 1984, only 355 were actually banded, and none were ever recaptured.

LeConte’s Sparrow is commonly mistaken for Nelson’s Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sparrow, and Baird’s Sparrow. There has been a recorded case of a LeConte’s sparrow hybridized with a Nelson’s Sparrow, in June 1949 in Ontario.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At the Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying LeConte’s Sparrows

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing LeConte’s Sparrow are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

LeConte’s Sparrow Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and LeConte’s Sparrows. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders For LeConte’s Sparrows

There are many types of bird feeders. Bird feeders are a great addition to your backyard. Bird feeders will increase the chances of attracting birds drastically. Both kids and adults will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. There are a wide variety of bird feeders on the market and it is important to find the best fit for you and your backyard.

Bird Houses For LeConte’s Sparrows

There are many types of bird houses. Building a bird house is always fun but can be frustrating. Getting a bird house for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. If you spend a little extra money on bird houses, it will be well worth every penny and they’ll look great.