Sabanero Rayado
Grassland Sparrow
Ammodramus humeralis
Song
Grassland Sparrow
Appearance: The Grassland Sparrow is a small, sturdy sparrow, about 13 cm long. It has a large head, short tail, fairly long legs, and brownish-gray upperparts with dark streaks. The underparts are pale whitish to buff. A key mark is the small yellow spot in front of the eye, called the yellow lore, plus a thin white eye-ring.
Habitat: It lives in open grasslands and savannas, especially tall savanna grassland, seasonally wet or flooded lowland grasslands, pastures, and cerrado-like open country. It is usually a lowland bird, recorded up to about 1,100 m in parts of its range.
Behavior: This sparrow is often secretive, staying low in grass and feeding on the ground. It eats mainly grass seeds and other small seeds, but also takes small insects, especially during the breeding season. Males may be easier to notice when they sing from a low perch above the grass.
Breeding: The Grassland Sparrow is a ground-nesting bird. It builds a cup-shaped nest on the ground, usually hidden among grass, sometimes with a small tunnel or runway through the vegetation leading to the nest.
Conservation Status: It is listed as Least Concern.
MALE
JUVENILE
Distribution
The Grassland Sparrow occurs mainly in open lowland grasslands and savannas, especially in the Llanos in the Orinoco region of eastern Colombia. It is associated with natural savannas, seasonally wet grasslands, and cattle pastures where enough grassy cover remains. It is also found in the Western Andes Mountains and near by the surroundings of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and in the Guajira department.
Taxonomy
The Grassland Sparrow (Ammodramus humeralis)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves (Birds)
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Passerellidae
- Genus: Ammodramus
- Species: humeralis
Vocalization
The Grassland Sparrow (Ammodramus humeralis) has a thin, high-pitched voice.
Song: A high, thin series of plaintive phrases, often written as something like “eee, telee, teeeee.” Males usually sing from a low grass stem, shrub, fence post, or other slightly raised perch in open grassland.
Buzzing Notes: Its song may include buzzes, single notes, and trills, giving it a delicate, insect-like quality.
Call Notes: Short, sharp contact or alarm calls are less well described than the song, but they are likely simple thin “tsip” or “chip”-like notes, used when moving through grass or when disturbed.
