“Baird’s Sparrow, Rare Gem of the Northern Plains”

When it comes to native songbirds of the Northern prairie grasslands, the Baird’s Sparrow is a representative—and more of a rarity given the loss of native prairie land. Audubon witnessed this bird for the first time in 1843 in North Dakota, and not recorded again for 3 decades. Their song is a tinkling from the tops of shrubs and grasses, with a few higher notes followed by a trailing trill.

These sparrows breed almost exclusively in tallgrass prairie, so they rely on having native prairie habitat. Not much is known about where and how they migrate to the Southwest for winter, tough to find; rarely they can be seen in weedy fields and hayfields. Males and females look alike, with yellowish-tan streaky coloring, a whitish chest, and a ‘necklace’ of dark spots.

Their diet consists of insects and seeds from ground foraging, and nesting is similar to Meadowlarks and Horned Larks, with the use of a depression in the ground in grassy areas. Pairs are seasonally monogamous and defend territories, which often overlap depending on the availability of native habitat.

Baird’s Sparrow has been on the conservation Yellow Watchlist due to population declines related to habitat loss. Efforts to revert cropland back to native prairie with controlled burning result in population increases. It’s as simple as that; native prairie birds rely on native prairie plants and habitat!

Original mixed media on raw stretched canvas with maple float frame.

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/
https://www.audubon.org/bird-guide