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Vesper Sparrow

Pooecetes gramineusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Sparrows (Emberizidae)
Vesper Sparrow Breeding Male Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Cone
  • Eye Color: Brown to dark reddish brown.
  • Head Pattern: Streaked, Eyering, Malar or malar stripe
  • Crown Color: White with gray-brown streaking.
  • Forehead Color: White with gray-brown streaking.
  • Nape Color: White with gray-brown streaking.
  • Throat Color: White with gray-brown streaking.
  • Cere color: No Data
Vesper Sparrow Breeding Male Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 14-17 cm (5.5-6.75 in)
  • Weight: 28 g (1 oz)
  • Size: Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color Primary: White, Brown
  • Underparts: White with gray-brown streaking on breast and sides.
  • Upperparts: Gray-brown with black streaks.
  • Back Pattern: Striped or streaked
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Striped or streaked
Vesper Sparrow Breeding Male Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
  • Wingspan Range: 25-29 cm (10-11.25 in)
  • Wing Shape: Rounded-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Notched Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Brown with white outer feathers.
  • Under Tail: Brown with white outer feathers.
  • Leg Color: Pink-gray
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Family
Species Pooecetes gramineus
Length5.5 - 6.75 Inches
Wingspan10.625 Inches

Vesper Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow: Medium sparrow, black-streaked gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, and streaked breast and sides. White face has brown cheek patch and white eye-ring. Wings are gray-brown with two pale bars and rufous shoulder patches. Tail is notched and dark with white edges.

● Song: "here-here where-where", "hisp"

● Foraging & Feeding: Vesper Sparrow: Feeds on insects during the summer, along with spiders and other small invertebrates. Eats mostly seeds in the winter; forages on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Vesper Sparrow: Two to six creamy white or pale green eggs with brown markings are laid in a cup of grass, weed stalks, and rootlets, built in a scraped-out ground depression, and lined with fine grass and animal hair. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Vesper Sparrow: Savannah Sparrow has shorter tail, yellow behind eye, pale central crown stripe, and lacks rust-brown shoulder and eye-ring.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
Vesper Sparrow Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Vesper Sparrow: Breeds from British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia south to central California, Texas, Tennessee, and western North Carolina. Spends winters north to central California, Oklahoma, New Jersey, and Long Island. Found in cultivated fields, grasslands, and fallow fields with adjacent farmed areas.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationUncommon to fairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight1 Ounces