Grasshopper Sparrow

Two thin introductory chips followed by an extended, insect-like buzz lasting about one second, delivered from a low perch or in fluttering display flight.

Breeds across southern Canada, the northern half of the United States, and locally southward; winters from the southern U.S. through Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Native and restored prairies, hay fields, pastures, fallow fields, airport grasslands, and other expanses of short to medium-height grasses with scattered forbs and bare ground.

Arrives on breeding grounds from late April to early May; males establish territories immediately and sing through July. Most depart by late September. Migrates mostly at night.

A stub–tailed, flat–headed sparrow of open grasslands, the Grasshopper Sparrow is named for its high-pitched, insect-like song. Most often detected by ear rather than sight, it keeps low in dense grass and flushes only at the last moment, flying with a short, bounding flight before dropping back into cover.