Although historically common in many areas of the country, the Grasshopper Sparrow is not easily observed by bird-watchers. It dwells close to the ground, singing while perched, at highest, on a fencepost. This sparrow is highly sensitive to even the subtlest disturbances in its habitat, even abandoning traditional nesting grounds when the grass grows too high.

There are two races of Grasshopper Sparrow, the Eastern (A.s. pratensis) and the Floridian (A.s. floridanus). Due to the increased early mowing of hayfields, the extensive grazing by farm stock, the reversion of grasslands to forests, and human development on grasslands, both populations have declined markedly in recent years.

Species Description:
Length: 11 to 13 cm (4? to 5 inches)
Physical characteristics: Clear buff breast with intricate pattern of rufous spots on upperparts; white eye-ring and white median stripe on crown.
Voice: Similar to that of a grasshopper, the song is a weak tik tuk followed by a high-pitched insect-like buzz: tik tuk tikeeeeeeez.

Breeding habitat:
Open meadows, plains, hayfields and pastures and, to a lesser degree, airfields and grassy roadsides.

Mating system:
Monogamous; 2-3 broods per season.

Nest:
Fragile cup of dried grass, often domed, placed in a hollow beneath a tuft of grass or clump of mud and lined with rootlets and hair.

Eggs:
4-5 white eggs speckled with reddish-brown.

Chick development:
Female incubates the eggs for 11-12 days while the male defends the nest; chicks are altricial at hatching.

Diet: Insects, especially grasshoppers, and seeds.

Conservation Biology:
Management techniques of prescribed burning, grazing and mowing have been used in an attempt to encourage the growth of Grasshopper Sparrow populations. Deferring mowing on publicly owned lands and at airports until breeding season ends has helped to boost nesting populations of the Grasshopper Sparrow in these areas. Although intensive grazing, especially in arid regions, has been detrimental, light grazing in lush grassland has proved to be beneficial to this species. In certain states, the Grasshopper Sparrow has shown a preference for areas in which prescribed burns occurred in the previous year, as it is within this time period that the area will be once more covered with tall grasses, while lacking dense growths of trees, shrubs, etc. (Vickery, 1996).

Special Protection Status:
Rangewide: A.s. pratensis is now considered regionally threatened in the northeast, and is listed as Endangered, Threatened, or of Special Concern by state wildlife authorities in New York, several New England states, and other states throughout its range (Vickery, 1996); in its southeastern range - largely Florida - A.s. floridanus is also listed as an endangered species.
Region: The Grasshopper Sparrow is on the North Carolina Watch List (2001) because of threats to its breeding habitat.

Breeding: British Columbia, Manitoba, and New Hampshire south to Florida, the West Indies and Mexico.

Winter: Primarily North Carolina, Texas and California.

An occasional summer resident and migrant, park naturalist Arthur Stupka recorded Grasshopper Sparrows singing in Cades Cove during the late 1930s but they have not been recorded there during the breeding season in recent years. The most recent possible breeding record is from Purchase Knob in 2001 (Hunter et al. and T. Rundle, pers. com.). Migrating birds have been recorded flying over Purchase Knob by Mark Armstrong as he was monitoring nocturnal migration during the falls of 2002 and 2003. They may be more common in Cades Cove and other grassy areas during migration than records indicate for such a cryptic species. Stupka also noted one individual that appeared to over-winter in the Park Headquarters area during the winter of 1937-1938.

References:

Bull, John and John Farrand, Jr. 1977. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Delaney, Michael F. Grasshopper Sparrow. 2003. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2003, January 6. Florida's breeding bird atlas: A collaborative study of Florida 's birdlife. http://www.wildflorida.org/bba/

Gough, G. A., Sauer, J. R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html

Parnell, James F., Eloise F. Potter and Robert P. Teulings. 1980. Birds of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.

Sibley, D.A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Vickery, Peter D. 1996. The Birds of North America : Grasshopper Sparrow (Excerpts). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N. http://birds.cornell.edu/birdsofna/excerpts/grsparrow.html

Wildlife in Connecticut: Endangered and Threatened Species Series: Grasshopper Sparrow. January 2000. Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, CT. http://dep.state.ct.us/burnatr/wildlife/factshts/gsparrow.htm