Florida grasshopper sparrow facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ammodramus savannarum floridanus |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Passerellidae |
| Genus: | Ammodramus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
A. s. floridanus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Ammodramus savannarum floridanus (Mearns, 1902)
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The Florida grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus) is a special kind of grasshopper sparrow. It lives only in the dry grasslands of south-central Florida. This bird is currently in danger of disappearing forever.
It's one of four types of grasshopper sparrows found in North America. Sadly, it might be the most endangered. Even with many efforts by scientists, it's been hard to help their numbers grow.
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What Does It Look Like?
The Florida grasshopper sparrow is a small bird. It has a short tail and a round head. When fully grown, it is about 13 cm (5 inches) long.
Like other grasshopper sparrows, its wings are brown, white, and gray. It has small yellow patches near its wings and above its eyes. Adult sparrows have white undersides. Their throat and chest are a light tan color. Young sparrows have stripes on their chests.
This sparrow has a longer beak and legs than other types. It also doesn't have reddish stripes on the back of its neck.
Its Unique Song
The Florida grasshopper sparrow gets its name from its song. It sounds a lot like a grasshopper!
Male sparrows sing only a few hours a day. They sing mostly during the breeding season. They often sit on twigs or dead palmetto leaves to sing. You'll hear them most in the early morning and early evening. This is usually around sunrise and sunset.
Where Does It Live?
Some grasshopper sparrows migrate, meaning they travel long distances. They can be found in North and South America. But the Florida grasshopper sparrow does not migrate. It stays in one place.
This means it only lives in the prairie region of south-central Florida. You can find them in counties like Glades, Highlands, Polk, Okeechobee, and Osceola.
Its Home Sweet Home
Florida grasshopper sparrows need a very specific type of home. They like large areas of poorly drained grasslands. These areas often have fires that clear out plants. They also have very few trees, usually less than one tree per acre.
Common plants in their habitat include bluestem and wiregrass. You might also see some saw palmettos. These sparrows spend most of their time on the ground. So, they need some bare ground to move around and find food.
Reproduction and Nests
The Florida grasshopper sparrow is the only type of grasshopper sparrow that nests in Florida. They build their nests on the ground. They usually place them at the base of a small bush or a clump of grass.
They nest between April and August. Their nests are made from nearby plant materials. These are mainly leaves from bluestem and wiregrass. Females usually lay 3 to 5 eggs. The young birds leave the nest about 10 days after hatching.
It's tough for their nests to succeed. One study found that only 10-33% of nests were successful.
Today, only three places in Florida are known to have wild populations. And the number of birds in these places is going down. However, there are reports of a few other groups on private lands. Conservation groups hope to protect these areas.
What Do They Eat?
Florida grasshopper sparrows are omnivores. This means they eat both plants and animals. Most of their diet is insects. They enjoy grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and moths.
For plants, they mostly eat seeds from sedges and star grass. These sparrows look for food near the ground. This is why frequent fires are important. Fires help keep areas of bare ground open for them to find food.
How Many Are Left?
For a long time, no one knew how many Florida grasshopper sparrows existed. Then, in the 1980s, large surveys were done. After these surveys, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Florida grasshopper sparrow as an endangered species. This means it's at high risk of extinction.
In the 1990s, scientists estimated fewer than 500 adult sparrows. Recent studies suggest there's a 22% chance they could disappear in the next 50 years. Their survival depends a lot on having enough habitat. Losing their habitat could mean a 66% chance of extinction. Based on these numbers, some thought the species might even become extinct in the wild by 2018–2019.
Protecting the Sparrows
In 2017, there were only about 50-60 Florida grasshopper sparrows left in the wild. This is a huge drop from 2004, when there were about 1,000.
Many things have caused this decline:
- Invasive fire ants eating hatchlings (baby birds).
- Bad weather and floods destroying nests.
- Loss of their natural home (habitat).
- Competition with other species that are not native to Florida.
Because of this decline, special breeding programs have started. Groups like the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation and White Oak Conservation are helping. In 2015, 23 eggs were moved to the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation. These eggs were in danger from floods. Twenty-one of them successfully hatched using artificial incubation.
By mid-2017, White Oak Conservation had produced 18 chicks. These chicks came from 3 pairs of wild-born adults and their offspring. Breeding in captivity has faced challenges. A gut parasite caused diseases in the birds. Scientists are working to find solutions.
There has been some debate about what to do with the remaining wild birds. Some biologists think all wild sparrows should be caught. They would then join the captive breeding program. This would help keep their genes diverse. Others believe these birds should stay in the wild. They are important for studying how the species lives and survives naturally.
On May 9, 2019, the FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) announced a plan. They would release captive-bred sparrows into public lands in Osceola County. This effort aims to boost the wild populations, which were fewer than 80 sparrows at the time.
