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Species Profile ~
Harris’s
Sparrow
Seiurus aurocapillus
by Alvin Miller
The Harris’s Sparrow is a large, burly sparrow found
in the mid-west. It is the largest sparrow at 7.5
inches long. They have a large head, a big pink
bill, and a long tail.
Their plumage is striking and distinctive. They have
a brown back streaked with black, a bright white
belly, and a black crown, face, and throat that
contrasts with a paler, plain grayish-brown head.
In winter they have plain brown cheeks with no gray
mixed in. Immatures have buffy colored faces and
almost no black.
These big sparrows like to forage on the ground for
seeds, insects, and berries. They also eat flower
buds and small blossoms. On the southern plains in
winter flocks of Harris’s Sparrows are often found
in dense river bottom thickets, woodland borders,
clearings, and brush piles.
They breed regularly in mossy bogs and scrub forests
of central Canada, west of the Hudson Bay, and south
to northern Manitoba.
Their nest consists of 3-5 brown blotched pale green
eggs in a plant fiber and leaf nest lined with
grass. It is usually placed on the ground at the
base of a bush or in a stunted spruce tree.
The song of the Harris’s Sparrow is a series of one
to four clear whistles, often with a drawn-out
whistle followed by one to three shorter whistles.
Call is a loud, “wenk”. They often sit in the tops
of bushes and trees to sing.
These large handsome sparrows are favorites at
eastern feeders since they rarely stray so far from
their normal mid-western range. If they show up in
the east they’re usually with other sparrows or
juncos.
Harris’s Sparrows were named by John James Audubon
for Edward Harris, who accompanied him on his
western trip in 1843.
I
had the unforgettable experience with a Harris’s
Sparrow when one decided to show up at our feeders
in Holmes County, Ohio.
Page last updated on
Friday July 25, 2008
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