Ammodramus aurifrons
The Yellow-browed Sparrow, *Ammodramus aurifrons*, is a small, enigmatic grassland specialist, measuring approximately 12-14 cm (4.7-5.5 inches) in length with a wingspan of 20-22 cm (7.9-8.7 inches) and weighing 14-20 grams. Its most distinctive feature, and the inspiration for its name, is a brilliant, butter-yellow supercilium (eyebrow stripe) contrasting with a dark eye-line and a pale lore. The crown and nape are typically streaked brown and gray, while the back is intricately streaked w...
This species exclusively inhabits extensive, undisturbed tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies, hayfields, and native grasslands, typically found at elevations ranging from sea level up to 1,500 meters (5,000 feet).
Primarily insectivorous during the breeding season, consuming a variety of grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, and spiders, supplementing their diet with small seeds, especially grains and grass seeds, during fall and winter.
The Yellow-browed Sparrow is a notoriously secretive and terrestrial bird, spending most of its diurnal activity skulking through dense grass, often revealed only by its distinctive song or short, buzzing flight. Foraging occurs primarily on the ground, where it gleans insects and seeds from vege...
The Yellow-browed Sparrow breeds across the vast prairies of central North America, primarily encompassing the Great Plains region from southern Canada (Manitoba, Saskatchewan) south through the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and eastern Colorado. Its breeding range extends eastward into pa...
Near Threatened
- The Yellow-browed Sparrow's primary mode of escape is to run mouse-like through dense grass rather than take flight, making it one of North America's most elusive sparrows. - Its distinctive song is often described as a mechanical "buzz" or "trill," sometimes likened to an insect's call, making...