Feeding Behavior

Forages mostly on the ground, especially on wet mud near the water's edge, and sometimes feeds while wading in very shallow water. Also does some foraging up in marsh vegetation.

Eggs

4-5, sometimes 3-6. Pale green to greenish white, heavily marked with reddish brown. Incubation is by female only, probably about 12-13 days. Male may feed female on the nest during incubation. Young: Both parents bring food to the nestlings. Young leave the nest about 10-13 days after hatching. Often 2 broods per year.

Young

Both parents bring food to the nestlings. Young leave the nest about 10-13 days after hatching. Often 2 broods per year.

Diet

Mostly insects and seeds. Feeds heavily on insects, perhaps more so than related sparrows, especially in summer. Diet includes many beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, ants, and many others, as well as other arthropods. Also eats many seeds, especially in fall and winter, including those of grasses, weeds, and sedges.

Nesting

To defend nesting territory, male sings from a raised perch, such as the top of a cattail or a shrub in the marsh. May sing by day or night. Nest: Placed in marsh vegetation such as cattails, sedge tussocks, or bushes, often directly above the water, up to 5' high; perhaps sometimes on the ground. Nest (probably built by female only) often has bulky foundation of coarse grass and other marsh plants, with inner cup of fine grass. Dead cattail blades or other leaves often arch over the nest, so that the birds must enter from the side.