Adult. Photo: Joesboy/iStock
Ammospiza caudacuta
| Conservation status | Undoubtedly has declined in many regions with loss of coastal marsh habitat. |
|---|---|
| Family | New World Sparrows |
| Habitat | Coastal marshes. Found mostly in salt marshes with sedges, rushes, cordgrass, saltgrass, and other typical plants; sometimes in fresh marshes or fields adjacent to coast. |
Audubon Connecticut’s priority bird species are birds of significant conservation need, for which our actions, over time, can lead to measurable improvements in status. Some of these species are listed as vulnerable or near threatened on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Redlist. Others are species of conservation concern on the National Audubon Society’s Watchlist or identified as priorities by Partners in Flight. Many priority species are also listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern in Connecticut and are included in Connecticut’s Wildlife Action Plan. The breadth of this list reflects the dramatic loss of habitat and the pervasive threats that confront birds and other wildlife.
Forages while walking on the ground or while climbing in marsh plants. Picks items from surface of plants, ground, or water, and sometimes probes in mud.
3-5, sometimes 2-6. Greenish white to pale blue-green, heavily dotted with reddish-brown. Incubation is by female only, 11-12 days. Young: Nestlings are fed by female alone. Young leave nest about 8-11 days after hatching, may remain with female for another 2-3 weeks. Often 2 broods per year.
Nestlings are fed by female alone. Young leave nest about 8-11 days after hatching, may remain with female for another 2-3 weeks. Often 2 broods per year.
Mostly insects and other invertebrates, some seeds. Animal matter makes up much of winter diet and almost all of summer diet. Feeds on insects (including grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, ants, wasps, others), spiders, amphipods, small crabs and snails, marine worms, other invertebrates. Also eats seeds of grasses and other marsh plants, especially in fall and winter.
Unusual breeding system. Males do not defend territories, but move around large area of marsh, singing to attract females. Both sexes are promiscuous, and no pairs are formed; males take no part in caring for the eggs or young. Nest site is in marsh, usually where standing plants are mixed with much dead grass remaining from preceding seasons. Nests usually placed just above normal high tide mark; many nests are destroyed by extreme tides. Nest (built by female) is a bulky open cup of grass, sometimes partially domed over, with lining of finer grass.
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service program supports bird conservation in three critical regions of the watershed.
Protecting birds and people from sea-level rise and warming oceans is a critical part of climate action.
Audubon’s new conservation strategy will create a resilient future for the Long Island Sound area.
Helping imperiled saltmarsh birds adapt to sea-level rise threatening coastal marshes in the Chesapeake Bay
Audubon is leading an ambitious effort to restore the Long Island Sound’s health, supporting waterbirds, shorebirds, and people
Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news.
Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program.
Membership benefits include one year of Audubon magazine and the latest on birds and their habitats. Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk.
Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives.
