{"id":4011,"date":"2020-11-06T17:24:50","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T17:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/?p=4011"},"modified":"2020-11-06T18:06:53","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T18:06:53","slug":"savannah-sparrow-communication-is-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/2020\/11\/06\/savannah-sparrow-communication-is-key\/","title":{"rendered":"Savannah Sparrow: Communication is Key"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Part I: Introduction <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I walked around Sandy Island Provincial Park when I first began birding, I found myself drawn to these small sparrows with a distinct yellow stripe on their head. At the time, I didn’t know what these little guys were, or even how to identify them; all I knew was that I seemed to see them everywhere and that they were very<\/em> vocal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Savannah Sparrow walking amongst the rocks on Sandy Island
(Photo: Anton Seaman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Description and Identification<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis<\/em>) is a short-tailed grass sparrow that belongs to the Order Passeriformes and Family Passerellidae (Ebird<\/a>). They are insectivores, primarily; however, during the winter months they will switch to a diet of small seeds from grasses and other flowering plants. They may seem like another boring striped songbird that looks like all the rest, but they are actually quite easy to identify! While they are not as flashy as some other bird species, they do have several distinct features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bright yellow lores, when they are present, an excellent field marker when searching for them. Even when the yellow is not present, they are brown above with thin black or brown streaks, and white on the belly with streaking throughout, and can range in being more greyish or reddish in appearance. (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology<\/a>). They can be easily mistaken for Song Sparrows (Melospiza meodia<\/em>), however they have a much shorter tail, as well as a subtle crest; their bill is considered small for a sparrow and is pinkish in colour, their streaking is a lot more distinct, and they have a paler eyebrow (Sibley, 2016). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of sexual dimorphism, there is no distinct difference between males and females in plumage; however, sexual dimorphism is present between the sexes in terms of size, the juvenile males being 11% larger than the females (Wheelwright, 1994<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Savannah Sparrow on a post at Cowichan Estuary
(Photo: Danielle Lacasse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are 28 named subspecies of Savannah Sparrow (Bird Atlas<\/a>), some of which experience distinct plumage and other differences by region. Subspecies includes the “Large-billed”, “Belding’s”, and “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology<\/a>). As one of my professors would say, Holy Biodiversity Batman!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fun fact! The Ipswich Savannah Sparrow nests only on Sable Island, Nova Scotia! They are larger and paler than their eastern counterparts of Savannah, and prefer to walk or run, rather than hopping as the other races tend to do (Robbins, 1983).<\/p>\n\n\n\n