Saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow
Ammodramus cauducutus
Identification Tips:
- Large, conical bill
- Large, flat head
- Short tail
- Orange face surrounding gray cheek
- White throat
- Gray crown and nape
- Buffy breast and sides with dark streaks
- White belly and undertail coverts
- Brown wing coverts
- Dark and light streaking on back
- Sexes similar
- Juvenile plumage (Summer, sometimes Fall) similar to adult but has
buffier underparts with less streaking and browner, not gray, upperparts
- Found in coastal marshes
- Until recently, considered conspecific with Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Similar species:
The Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow is similar to the Nelson's Sharp-tailed
Sparrow but has a white throat separated from the orange face by a dark
streak (uniformly orange in Nelson's) and more streaking on the breast.
LeConte's Sparrow has a white central crown stripe and purplish streaks on
the nape. Juvenile Seaside Sparrow is similar to Juvenile Saltmarsh but has
a larger bill and a broken supercilium.