SPARROWS

Brewer’s Sparrow

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Peucaea botterii

The Brewer's Sparrow is a small, slim species of American sparrow in the family Passerellidae. It was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.

Adults have gray-brown backs and speckled brown crowns, both with dark streaks, and a pale eye-ring. Their wings are brown with light wing bars and the underparts are pale gray.

Their bill is pale with a dark tip and they have a long notched tail. They are similar in appearance to the Clay-Colored sparrow but do not have a pale stripe on the crown or gray neck patch.

The male sings to defend a nesting territory. Their song is a long varied mix of notes and trills. Males have two distinct types of songs – classified as short and long songs.

The spring and summer diet is primarily insects, while the fall and winter diet is primarily seeds. Used to dry habitats, they can survive for long periods without drinking.

Brushy areas, especially with sagebrush.

Southern parts of western Canada and in the western United States.

The nest is a small cup built of grasses, weeds, twigs, and other fine vegetative material. The female usually lays 3 or 4 blue-green eggs, spotted with dark brown or reddish-brown. The incubation period is about 10 -12 days and the nestling period is 6 - 9 days.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://www.sdakotabirds.com