Home Application Download FAQ
English
English
繁體中文
日本語
Español
Français
Deutsch
Pусский
Português
Italiano
한국어
Nederlands
العربية

Henslow's Sparrow

A species of Grassland sparrows
Scientific name : Centronyx henslowii Genus : Grassland sparrows

Henslow's Sparrow, A species of Grassland sparrows
Botanical name: Centronyx henslowii
Genus: Grassland sparrows
Henslow's Sparrow (Centronyx henslowii) Photo By Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Description

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. Measurements: Length: 4.3-5.1 in (11-13 cm) Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (11-15 g) Wingspan: 6.3-7.9 in (16-20 cm)
Size
14 cm
Life Expectancy
6.5-7 years
Nest Placement
Ground
Clutch Size
3 - 4 eggs
Incubation Period
2 - 3 broods
Number of Broods
10 - 12 days
Feeding Habits
Henslow's Sparrow's diet varies seasonally, consuming insects like grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars during summer. In winter, henslow's Sparrow forages on the ground for seeds from wiregrass, sedges, ragweed, smartweed, as well as occasional berries.
Habitat
Henslow's Sparrow primarily inhabit open grasslands, including weedy pastures, wet meadows, and native prairies. This bird shows a preference for large, dense grass fields, notably avoiding areas close to trees or woody vegetation. Henslow's Sparrow are also known to adapt to human-altered landscapes, such as cultivated hayfields and reclaimed surfaces in the Ohio River basin. The species has historically utilized Atlantic coastal marshes and continues to occupy fire-maintained pine savannahs, especially during winter when their habitat tolerance slightly increases to include areas with more trees.
Nest Behavior
Henslow's Sparrow engages in nest building predominantly in grass-dominated habitats. The female is responsible for constructing the nest during the breeding season, and after building, she lays the eggs. Both parents participate in nurturing and protecting the hatchlings until fledging.
Nest Characteristics
Henslow's Sparrow's nest is typically located on or very near the ground, nestled at the base of dense grass clumps within thick leaf litter. The female constructs the nest using dried grasses, forming a loosely woven cup on top of the vegetation or leaf litter.
Dite type
Insectivorous

General Info

Behavior

Henslow's Sparrow exhibits extreme secrecy year-round, primarily conducting activities such as foraging for insects and seeds on or near the ground. They demonstrate a loose colonial nesting pattern with pairs staying close yet maintaining distinct territories divided by an unclaimed buffer zone. Territorial males alternately sing from exposed perches or while concealed on the ground. On wintering grounds, documenting henslow's Sparrow's behavior proves challenging due to their heightened secrecy and quietness.

Distribution Area

Their breeding habitat is shrubby fields, often wet, in southern Canada, the northeastern United States, and the midwestern United States. The nest is a well-concealed open cup on or close to the ground in a 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 of the grasslands that it depends on. However, it has heavily benefited from the Conservation Reserve Program formed by the United States Department of Agriculture, which has helped to stabilize its population. Following this, it was downlisted to Least Concern from Near Threatened in 2018. The Texas population was solely known from a 105-acre (0.42 km) brushfield near Houston and disappeared after devegetation due to industrial development in the 1980s. It was considered a distinct subspecies (P. h. houstonensis: Arnold, 1983) but is today considered to fall into the range of variation of the nominate subspecies (Browning, 1990). Likewise, the South Dakotan population formerly known as P. h. occidentalis has been synonymized with the nominate. The only remaining subspecies generally (but not universally) accepted are the eastern Henslow's sparrow and the western Henslow's sparrow, whose ranges are for the most part separated by the Appalachian Mountains.
Henslow's Sparrow (Centronyx henslowii) Henslow's Sparrow (Centronyx henslowii) Photo By Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Download Picture Bird
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
Cookie Management Tool
In addition to managing cookies through your browser or device, you can change your cookie settings below.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our application/website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_ga Google Analytics These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here. 1 Year
_pta PictureThis Analytics We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_ga
Source
Google Analytics
Purpose
These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_pta
Source
PictureThis Analytics
Purpose
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
Lifespan
1 Year
Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising companies to serve ads that are relevant to your interests.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_fbp Facebook Pixel A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here. 1 Year
_adj Adjust This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_fbp
Source
Facebook Pixel
Purpose
A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_adj
Source
Adjust
Purpose
This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year
Download