Savannah Sparrow -- South Dakota Birds

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

The Savannah Sparrow is a ground-dwelling sparrow found in a wide variety of open grassy/marshy habitats.  Sometimes confusing for birders, several different races exist with a variety of colorations.  They were first named for Savannah, Georgia, the city in which they were originally identified and described.

Habitat: Open habitat including prairies, meadows, rangeland, pastures, salt marshes, other wetland edges, dunes, shores.

Diet: Primarily feeds on insects in the summer.  Also feeds on seeds and berries, especially in the winter.  Populations along the coast will also feed on small crustaceans and mollusks.

Nesting: May through July

Breeding Map: Breeding Bird Survey map

Song: 2 "chip" notes followed by a buzzy trill.  To listen to this bird, click here to go to the E-nature.com site for this species, and click on the "listen to this bird" message near the top.

Migrations: Summers through all of Canada and Alaska, and most of the northern half of the U.S.  Winters in the southern half of the U.S., Mexico, and Central America.

Similar Species: Vesper Sparrow, Song Sparrow

Status: Stable throughout most of its range.

Further Information: 1) USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Savannah Sparrow

2) Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Savannah Sparrow

3) eNature.com: Savannah Sparrow

Photo Information: May 26th, 2003 -- Minnehaha County -- Terry Sohl

Additional Photos: Click on the image chips or text links below for additional, higher-resolution Savannah Sparrow photos.

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Range Map Reference: NatureServe

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Please mail any comments/suggestions/additional links for this page to: Terry L. Sohl

This page was last edited on 02/03/08