| The secretive and elusive Lincoln's sparrow is one of those species that must be sought out, sometimes with great effort, in order to be observed. Like many in the sparrow family, it is often referred to as a skulker, afraid of its own shadow. This is a characteristic they take on after the breeding season when their singing subsides.
I know from experience how easy it is to overlook this species. But once its habits are learned, the habitat it frequents and the time of year it passes through, one can expect to find it with regularity, especially in the fall when its ranks are swollen.
This sparrow is olive-gray and streaked above with rusty crown stripes and a narrow white eye ring. The eyebrows, center-crown and sides of neck are solid gray while the underparts are whitish, with a buff band across the breast marked with fine streaks. It is very similar to the Song Sparrow but is more finely streaked.
The Lincoln's sparrow breeds in the tamarack swamps and brushy bogs of the northern Canada or the wet meadows of the western mountains at elevations up to 11,000 feet. We found it to be surprisingly common in the northern section of Nova Scotia a few years ago when photographing birds of that region. But to our immense frustration, and in spite of our best efforts, we were unable to locate a nest. Numerous pairs of adults 'chirped' at us continuously which indicates the presence of an occupied nest nearby. We had read that the nest is a cup of grass built on or close to the ground, on hummocks of grass or in low brush piles and is extremely well concealed.
A clutch consists of 3-6 pale green eggs , spotted with brown. the eggs are incubated by the female for about 14 days and the young leave the nest about 20 days later. The female leaves the nest by running along the ground and will perform crippled bird acts when the nest contains hatchlings. The diet consists of seeds and insects and spiders which it gleans by vigorously scratching the ground.
Length 5-6 inches
|
