Saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow

Adults have brownish upperparts with grey on the crown and nape, a cream-coloured breast with dark streaks and a white throat and belly; they have an orange face with grey cheeks and a short pointed tail.

The Saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow is classified as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows in a tidally restricted salt marsh. Wetlands. vol 22, no 1. p. 179-185. * Erwin RM, Cahoon DR, Prosser DJ, Sanders GM & Hensel P. (2006). Surface elevation dynamics in vegetated Spartina marshes versus unvegetated tidal ponds along the mid-Atlantic coast, USA, with implications to waterbirds. Estuaries & Coasts. vol 29, no 1. p. 96-106. More

The Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow has a small range, confined to a small strip of Atlantic Coast from Maine to North Carolina. Native to the United States and vagrant in Canada, this bird prefers inland wetland or intertidal marine ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 250,000 individuals and shows signs of population and habitat decline that necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow is Vulnerable. More

Feeding: The Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow forages actively through grasses and over the wet marsh floor. Hunting by sight, this sparrow walks, runs, hops, and jumps after prey. Its breeding season diet consists of small crabs, small mussels, and adult and immature insects—including beach fleas, beetles, flies, and moths. As annual plants ripen in the marsh, the sparrow's diet shifts to include seeds from cordgrass, dandelions, saltbush, and smartweed. The Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow climbs grass stems to pull seeds from their husks. More

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow's remaining coastal wetlands are in poor health. The 2005 National Coastal Condition Report II found poor habitat conditions from New England to Maine. One year later, the U.S. Department of the Interior reported a loss of over 28,000 acres of intertidal wetlands occurring from 1998 to 2004 across the country. On top of habitat losses caused by commercial development, the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow is impacted by toxic environments and the invasion of exotic plant species. More

The Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow breeds in saltmarsh along the coast from southern Maine to the Delmarva Peninsula and winters in saltmarsh from coastal North Carolina to northern Florida and the Gulf Coast. Its habitat is dominated by smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora, saltmeadow grass Spartina patens, blackgrass Juncus gerardi, cattail Typha sp., and marsh elder Iva frutescens. The introduced reed Phragmites australis is also frequently present in these marshes, but the degree to which it impacts the species is not known. More

* The Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow is nonterritorial and promiscuous, and only females provide parental care. Males occupy large overlapping home ranges, and the mating relationship features forced copulations by males. * Breeding success in many Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow populations seems limited by storms and especially “spring” (high) tides, which often flood nests. More

saltmarshes (6), the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow is found in tidal, coastal marshland, where it lives amongst saltwater-tolerant grass species such as cordgrass, blackgrass and saltmeadow grass (2). Biology - Although it will make short flights, the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow is most commonly encountered walking, running and hopping along the ground as it forages amongst the dense stands of saltmarsh vegetation for insects, spiders, marine invertebrates and seeds (4) (5). More

behaviour of the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow mean that it can easily go unnoticed in its saltmarsh habitat (3). The head is boldly patterned, with grey cheeks flanked by bright orange stripes, and a grey crown extending down to the nape (2) (4). The upperparts are streaked blackish-brown and white, while the breast and underparts are white, with dark streaking along the flanks and upper breast (2). The tail is short and, as this species’ name suggests, has sharply pointed feathers. More

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow is similar to Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, but is darker overall, shows less gray in upperparts, and has dark streaking on the breast. More

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed sparrow blood at 11 sites in four New England states. Their research revealed that mercury levels at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Massachusetts consistently measured higher than levels at other refuges. A large number of the sparrows sampled at this location had mercury concentrations exceeding 1.18 µg/g, the level at which adverse effects are expected to occur in insectivorous birds. Determining how the mercury may be impacting the sparrows is challenging. More

The saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow prefers the drier part of salt marshes. This past summer researchers at the University of Connecticut, in collaboration with Patrick Comins (Director of Bird Conservation at Audubon - Connecticut), began a study of saltmarsh sparrows along the Connecticut coast. This project is primarily being funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency More

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Habitat Model go to: USFWS Gulf of Maine Watershed Habitat Analysis go to: Species Table Feedback: We welcome your suggestions on improving this model! Draft Date: June 2001 Species: Saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow, Ammodramus caudacutus. This species was described by Greenlaw (1993); A. nelsoni, which is closely related also occurs in Maine, typically in more freshwater environments (Tom Hodgman, pers. com. More

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Habitat in the Gulf of Maine - Table of Contents Identification Information Data Quality Information Spatial Data Organization Information Spatial Reference Information Entity and Attribute Information Distribution Information Metadata Reference Information - IDENTIFICATION_INFORMATION Citation: More

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow - Lake Minsi, Northampton County on November 12, 1996. Photo by Rick Wiltraut. Note the contrast between the orange face triangle and the lighter throat. This bird represents the 1st for Northampton County and only the 2nd record for Pennsylvania! Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow - Lake Minsi, Northampton County on November 12, 1996. Photo by Rick Wiltraut. Note the dark, submustouchial stripe and light breast with very little buff. More

Janet Wooten found a Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow at Falconer's Hill on May 13th 2009, and I was fortunate enough to turn up shortly after she did so and get good looks and a few photographs of this bird. As luck would have it this is the third sharp-tailed sparrow I've seen in Central Park, the previous ones being a Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow in the Gill on 4/30/2001 and a Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow in the Oven on 9/29/2002. More

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows are among the highest conservation priority species in North America, and Nelson's Sharp-tails are not far behind. Anything birders can do to increase the knowledge base for these two species along with Seaside Sparrows will allow for much more effective conservation planning for that group of birds. - This summer (2002) researchers in Dr. More