The Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds—Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)

Professional Paper 1842-BB
By: , and 

Links

Abstract

Keys to Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) management include providing shrub-dominated edge habitat adjacent to grasslands or grasslands with a shrub component (both of which must include dense grass and moderately high litter cover) and avoiding disturbances that eliminate woody vegetation. Field Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with 16–134 centimeters (cm) vegetation height, 20–145 cm visual obstruction reading, 17–90 percent grass cover, 2–45 percent forb cover, less than 63 percent shrub cover, 3–7 percent bare ground, 14–30 percent litter cover, and 1–7 cm litter depth.

Suggested Citation

Shaffer, J.A., Igl, L.D., Johnson, D.H., Sondreal, M.L., Goldade, C.M., Parkin, B.D., and Euliss, B.R., 2025, The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), chap. BB of Johnson, D.H., Igl, L.D., Shaffer, J.A., and DeLong, J.P., eds., The effects of management practices on grassland birds: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1842, 35 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1842BB.

ISSN: 2330-7102 (online)

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Capsule Statement
  • Breeding Range
  • Suitable Habitat
  • Area Requirements and Landscape Associations
  • Brood Parasitism by Cowbirds and Other Species
  • Breeding-Season Phenology and Site Fidelity
  • Species’ Response to Management
  • Management Recommendations from the Literature
  • References
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)
Series title Professional Paper
Series number 1842
Chapter BB
DOI 10.3133/pp1842BB
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Description vii, 35 p.
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details