White-eared ground sparrow facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-eared ground sparrow |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Passerellidae |
| Genus: | Melozone |
| Species: |
M. leucotis
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| Binomial name | |
| Melozone leucotis Cabanis, 1861
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The white-eared ground sparrow (Melozone leucotis) is a type of large American sparrow. You can find this bird in parts of Central America. It lives in foothills from southern Mexico and Guatemala all the way to northern Costa Rica.
Contents
Where They Live
These sparrows usually live in places that are between 500 and 2,000 meters (about 1,640 to 6,560 feet) high. They like to hide in the thick bushes and plants found in ravines. You can also spot them at the edges of forests or in other open woodlands. They sometimes even live in large gardens!
What They Look Like
The white-eared ground sparrow is about 17.5 centimeters (7 inches) long. It weighs around 43 grams (1.5 ounces), which is about the same as a few strawberries.
This bird has a short, dark-grey beak. Its back and upper parts are a plain olive-brown color. Its head is mostly black, but it has a white ring around its eye that isn't fully connected. There are also white spots right in front of and behind its eye.
The back of its neck is green, and the sides of its neck are a bright yellow. It has a black throat and a black patch on its chest. A thin reddish-grey line separates these black areas. The rest of its belly is mostly white, with some grey on its sides.
Young white-eared ground sparrows look a bit different. Their bellies are more yellow, and the patterns on their heads are not as clear or bright.
Different Types
Birds from northern Nicaragua are a bit different. They have a much wider black patch on their chest. The sparrows found furthest north have a grey stripe on top of their heads. They also have a clear yellow stripe above their eyes and a very small chest patch.
Sounds They Make
The white-eared ground sparrow has a thin call that sounds like "tsip." The male bird's song is loud and clear. It sounds like a whistled "spit-CHUR see-see-see."
What They Eat and How They Behave
These sparrows find their food on the ground. They eat seeds, berries that have fallen, insects, and spiders.
You will usually see them in pairs. They are quite shy birds, so they are easiest to spot early in the morning or late in the evening. Even though they are shy, they are easier to find than some of their relatives, like the Prevost's ground sparrow, which hides even more!
 | DeHart Hubbard |
 | Wilma Rudolph |
 | Jesse Owens |
 | Jackie Joyner-Kersee |
 | Major Taylor |
