Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Boulder Beach, Lake Mead, Las Vegas (February 17)

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)

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Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Boulder Beach, Lake Mead, Las Vegas (February 17)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Boulder Beach, Lake Mead, Las Vegas (February 17)

Common Name: Savannah Sparrow
Scientific Name: Passerculus sandwichensis
Subspecies: Seventeen subspecies (including the large-billed sparrows) are currently recognized, though many are only described from wintering birds and much of the variation seems to be clinal. The one seen around Las Vegas is Passerculus sandwichensis nevadensis.
Order/Family: Passeriformes/Passerellidae (New World Sparrows)

Description: The Savannah sparrow has a typically sparrow-like dark-streaked brown back, and whitish underparts with brown or blackish breast and flank streaking. It has whitish crown and supercilium stripes, sometimes with some yellow (more often near the beak). The cheeks are brown and the throat white. The flight feathers are blackish-brown with light brown or white border. The eyes are dark. The feet and legs are horn-colored, as is the lower part of the bill, with the upper part being dark grey.

Distribution: It breeds in Alaska, Canada, northern, central and Pacific coastal United States, Mexico and Guatemala. The Pacific and Mexican breeders are resident, but other populations are migratory, wintering from the southern United States across Central America and the Caribbean to northern South America.
Habitat: Open areas with low vegetation, including most of northern North America from tundra to grassland, marsh, and farmland.

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Boulder Beach, Lake Mead, Las Vegas (February 17)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Boulder Beach, Lake Mead, Las Vegas (February 17)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Boulder Beach, Lake Mead, Las Vegas (February 3)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Boulder Beach, Lake Mead, Las Vegas (February 3)