Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)

Grasshopper Sparrow [dorsal view of probable juvenile]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Macon County, Tennessee; 19 June 2013.

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Abundance: Uncommon late spring through summer; Very Uncommon during fall; Occasional during winter; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are somewhat thin but suggest a stable trend in the population breeding in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Summer Resident; Visitor during winter (2 records; see also Out-of-Season [Winter] Records [below]); specimen (11 June 1938; Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph [lateral view of adult with food for young] (Stephen J. Stedman; Clinton County, Kentucky; 16 August 2003); photograph [lateral view of adult male] (Stephen J. Stedman; Bledsoe County, Tennessee; 1 May 2012).

Regional High Count and Foray High Count: 43 (5 June 2013; Barren County, Kentucky; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 31 (16 May 2009; White County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Out-of-Season (Winter) Records: 

9 December 2000 (1) Mason Grissom Rd., Warren County, Tennessee (Susan N. McWhirter).

13 December 2011 (1) Mason Grissom Rd., Warren County, Tennessee (Susan N. McWhirter).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually widespread by 1 May; fall departure difficult to determine but probably largely complete by 15 October.  Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

* See also Out-of-Season (Winter) Records (above).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). Double-brooded at least occasionally, probably most of the time (Stedman and Walden 2004).

Habitat: A grassland species, typically most attracted to grazed pastures that have a component of weedy growth c. 0.5–1 m high; thistles are often a component of fields inhabited by this sparrow.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 0 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 2 (of 206 possible) check-lists during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Rare during the latter year; this frequency classification reveals a lesser likelihood of encountering this sparrow in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region as a whole, a somewhat expected result of the YardWatch project.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: Many fields and pastures in which this sparrow nests are subject to mowing, a practice that probably has some effect on its population dynamics.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited