Seaside sparrow

The seaside sparrow (Ammospiza maritima) is a species of American sparrow.

Seaside sparrow
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Passerellidae
Genus:	Ammospiza
Species:	A. maritima
Binomial name
Ammospiza maritima (Wilson, 1811)
Subspecies
8, see below
Part of the range of A. maritimus   Breeding range   Year-round range   Wintering range

Description

Adults have brownish upperparts with gray on the crown and nape, and a grayish-buff-colored breast with dark streaks; they have a dark face with gray cheeks, a white throat, and a short, pointed tail. Birds show a small yellow streak just above the eye. A typical seaside sparrow lifespan in 8 to 9 years of maximum.^[2] The oldest record of seaside sparrow was an individual male which was at least 10 years old when recaptured and re-released during the banding operations in South Carolina.^[3]

Their breeding habitat is salt marshes on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States from southern New Hampshire to southern Texas. The nest is an open cup usually built in the salt marsh on tidal reeds and spartina grasses. Females lay two to five eggs.^{[citation needed]} Northern birds most often migrate farther south along the eastern coast of the United States. They forage on the ground or in marsh vegetation, sometimes probing in mud. They mainly eat insects, marine invertebrates and seeds. Their feeding areas are often some distance away from the areas they choose to nest.^{[citation needed]} The song is a raspy buzz that closely resembles a distant red-winged blackbird.^{[citation needed]}

The recently-extinct dusky seaside sparrow (A. m. nigrescens)

One of the numerous subspecies of this bird, the dusky seaside sparrow (A. m. nigrescens), has recently become extinct, and the Cape Sable subspecies, A. m. mirabilis, is endangered. Occurring in a restricted range but of uncertain validity is Scott's seaside sparrow, (A. m. peninsulae). The small isolated population that is near Corpus Christi, Texas, south to the Rio Grande and the sennetti subspecies may also have risk to endangered,^[4] those were formerly considered a separate species.

Subspecies

Currently there are eight subspecies recognized:^[5]

• Ammospiza maritima fisheri (Chapman, 1899)
• Ammospiza maritima macgillivraii (Audubon, 1834)
• Ammospiza maritima maritima (A. Wilson, 1811) – Nominate subspecies^[6]
• Ammospiza maritima mirabilis (A. H. Howell, 1919) - Cape Sable seaside sparrow
• Ammospiza maritima nigrescens (Ridgway, 1874) - Dusky seaside sparrow †
• Ammospiza maritima pelonota (Oberholser, 1931)
• Ammospiza maritima peninsulae (J. A. Allen, 1888) - Scott's seaside sparrow
• Ammospiza maritima sennetti (J. A. Allen, 1888)