Species › Birds › Seaside Sparrow

Seaside Sparrow

Ammospiza maritima

UncommonBird
Illustration of Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima)

The Seaside Sparrow is a dark, stocky sparrow of saltmarshes along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. It rarely flies and walks and runs through marsh grass with a secretive, mouse-like behavior. The yellow spot before the eye and dark malar stripe are the main field marks. The extinct Dusky Seaside Sparrow of Florida was the first US bird known to have gone extinct from human causes.

Habitat
Salt and freshwater coastal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
Diet
Insects, small fiddler crabs, and seeds from marsh substrate
How common
Uncommon

Best time to see a Seaside Sparrow

The best time to see a Seaside Sparrow is April–July, when about 69% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 1,950 research-grade iNaturalist observations.

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