Henslow's Sparrow

The Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, is a small sparrow.

Adults have streaked brown upperparts with a light brown breast with streaks, a white belly and a white throat. They have a pale stripe on the crown with a dark stripe on each side, an olive face and neck, rust-coloured wings and a short dark forked tail.

Their breeding habitat is shrubby fields, often wet, in southern Canada and the northeastern United States. The nest is a well-concealed open cup on or close to the ground in grassy location; these birds often nest in small colonies.

They migrate to marshes and open pine woods in the southeastern United States.

These birds forage on the ground, mainly eating insects and seeds.

Their song is a quick se-lick.

The range and numbers of this bird are decreasing, probably due to habitat loss. This bird was named after John Stevens Henslow, a professor of botany at Cambridge University.