Saltmarsh sparrow

Saltmarsh sparrow

Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passerellidae
Genus: Ammospiza
Species:
A. caudacuta
Binomial name
Ammospiza caudacuta
(Gmelin, JF, 1788)
Subspecies
  • Ammospiza caudacuta caudacuta (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
  • Ammospiza caudacuta diversa (Bishop, 1901)
  Breeding
  Year-round
  Non-Breeding
Synonyms
  • Ammodramus caudacutus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)

The saltmarsh sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta) is a small New World sparrow found in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States. At one time, this bird and the Nelson's sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni) were thought to be a single species, the sharp-tailed sparrow. Because of this, the species was briefly known as the "saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow." Saltmarsh sparrow numbers are declining due to habitat loss largely attributed to human activity.