Endangered
Saltmarsh sparrow
Ammospiza caudacuta
The saltmarsh sparrow is a small New World sparrow found in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States.
Appearance
Adults have brownish upperparts with a gray nape, white throat and belly, and pale orange breast and sides with brown streaking. The face is orange with gray cheeks, a gray median crown stripe, brown lateral crown stripes, and a brown eyeline. The tail feathers are short and sharply pointed.
The saltmarsh sparrow measures 11–14 cm (4.3–5.5 in) in length, has a wingspan of 17.8–21 cm (7.0–8.3 in), and weighs 14–23.1 g (0.49–0.81 oz).
Range and habitat
The saltmarsh sparrow is only found in tidal salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States. The saltmarsh sparrow prefers high marsh habitat, dominated by saltmeadow cordgrass (Sporobolus pumilus) and saltmarsh rush (Juncus gerardii), that does not flood as frequently as low marsh. The saltmarsh sparrow is a small New World sparrow found in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet and breeding
The saltmarsh sparrow forages on the ground along tidal channels or in marsh vegetation, sometimes probing in the mud at low tide. Over 80% of the diet of nestlings consists of flies, amphipods, grasshoppers, and moths, especially larval, pupal, and adult soldier flies.
Only females exhibit parental care, building the nest, incubating the eggs, and providing food to the young. The nest is an open cup constructed of grass, usually attached to saltmeadow cordgrass (Sporobolus pumilus) or saltmarsh rush (Juncus gerardii) at a height of 6–15 centimetres (2.4–5.9 in).
In crisis
Because of this, the species was briefly known as the "saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow." Saltmarsh sparrow numbers are declining due to habitat loss largely attributed to human activity. The saltmarsh sparrow is of high conservation concern due to habitat loss resulting in small fragmented populations. Salt marshes are one of the most threatened habitats worldwide due to their limited natural extent, long history of human modification, and anticipated sea level rise.
Saltmarsh sparrow populations declined between 5% and 9% per year between the 1990s and 2010s, resulting in a total decline of over 75%. Without management intervention, the saltmarsh sparrow is projected to become extinct by 2050.
Saltmarsh sparrow is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Saltmarsh sparrow, Wikidata item Q28812394. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
