Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 3.9–5.9 in
10–15 cm - Weight
- 0.8–0.9 oz
22–26 g
Other Names
- Pipit de Sprague (French)
- Bisbita llanera (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- Displaying males often remain airborne for half an hour. In one case, a male Sprague's Pipit was observed displaying for three full hours before descending to the ground. No other bird species is known to perform such prolonged displays
Habitat
Grassland
Breeds and winters in open grassland with good drainage and no shrubs or trees.
Food
Insects
Mostly insects and spiders, as well as some seeds.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 4–6 eggs
- Egg Description
- Pale whitish with brown blotches.
- Condition at Hatching
- Downy and helpless.
Nest Description
A cup woven of fine grasses placed on the ground. Some nests have canopies of long grasses, sometimes forming a complete dome.
Nest Placement
Ground
Behavior
Ground Forager
Territorial male performs a display by flying from the ground into the wind, ascending to 50-100 meters off the ground, singing and gliding (often pushed backward by the wind), then flapping again and repeating, and finally plummeting straight down and flying into the grass. Picks prey from ground or grasses while walking or running.
Conservation
Vulnerable
Loss of habitat, as native prairie has been overgrazed and converted for farmland, has led to dramatic declines in Sprague's Pipit populations throughout its range.
Credits
- Robbins, M. B., and B. C Dale. 1999. Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii). In The Birds of North America, No. 439 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.