Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 4.7 in
12 cm - Wingspan
- 7.1 in
18 cm - Weight
- 0.4–0.6 oz
12–16 g
Other Names
- Bruant de Le Conte (French)
- Gorrión de Le Conte (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- Although the Le Conte's Sparrow was first discovered in 1790, the first nest was not found until nearly 100 years later.
- The Le Conte's Sparrow is an elusive bird that stays hidden in dense grass, often running along the ground. It is most easily seen and studied when flushed from its hiding spot. Birds on the wintering ground usually flush when the observer is less than 3 meters (10 ft) away, and often when less than 1 meter (3 ft) away. Not infrequently it will fly only after an observer has actually passed it and paused.
- Few Le Conte's Sparrows have ever been banded. Of the 355 banded between 1967 and 1984, none was ever recovered.
Habitat
Grassland
Found in open habitat, such as marshy meadows, hayfields, open grassy fields, sedge fields, rice stubble, and prairie. In winter prefers grassy areas with vegetation averaging 0.6 meters (2 ft) high.
Food
Insects
Seeds and insects.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 2–6 eggs
- Egg Description
- Pale greenish covered in fine brown specks
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless with sparse brown down.
Nest Description
Open cup of fine grasses, lined with grass and hair. Placed in thick clump of dead grass, on or just above ground.
Nest Placement
Ground
Behavior
Ground Forager
Usually forages on the ground, often under cover.
Conservation
Least Concern
May be increasing in some areas.
Credits
- Lowther, P. E. 1996. Le Conte's Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii). In The Birds of North America, No. 224 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.