__NOTOC__ Henslow's sparrow (''Centronyx henslowii'') is a

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird in the family

Passerellidae New World sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns. Although they share th ...

. It was named by

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...

in honor of

John Stevens Henslow John Stevens Henslow (6 February 1796 – 16 May 1861) was an English Anglican priest, botanist and geologist. He is best remembered as friend and mentor to Charles Darwin. Early life Henslow was born at Rochester, Kent, the son of a solicit ...

. It was originally classified in the genus ''

Emberiza The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus ''Emberiza'', the only genus in the Family (biology), family Emberizidae. The family contains 44 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills. Taxonomy Th ...

'' and called ''Henslow's bunting''.

Description

Adults have streaked brown upperparts with a light brown breast with streaks, a white belly and a white throat. They have a pale stripe on the crown with a dark stripe on each side, an olive face and neck, rust-coloured wings and a short dark forked tail. Measurements: * Length: * Weight: * Wingspan:

Distribution and habitat

The range and numbers of this bird are decreasing, probably due to habitat loss of the grasslands that it depends on. However, it has heavily benefited from the

Conservation Reserve Program The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a cost-share and rental payment program of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the program, the government pays farmers to take certain agriculturally used croplands out of produc ...

formed by the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

, which has helped to stabilize its population. Following this, it was downlisted to

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

from

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

in 2018. The

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

population was solely known from a brushfield near

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and disappeared after devegetation due to industrial development in the 1980s. It was considered a distinct subspecies (''P. h. houstonensis'': Arnold, 1983) but is today considered to fall into the range of variation of the nominate subspecies (Browning, 1990). Likewise, the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

n population formerly known as ''P. h. occidentalis'' has been synonymized with the nominate. The only remaining subspecies generally (but not universally) accepted are the eastern Henslow's sparrow and the western Henslow's sparrow, whose ranges are for the most part separated by the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

Diet and behavior

These birds forage on the ground, mainly eating

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s (including grasshoppers and beetles),

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

, and

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s. Their song is a quick ''se-lick''.

Breeding

Their breeding habitat is shrubby fields, often wet, in southern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

, and the

midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. In 2020, the Central Kentucky

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

discovered that a population of Henslow's sparrows near a winery only needed 5 acres of grassy habitat to successfully breed (previous research had suggested at least 20 to 75 acres were necessary). The nest is a well-concealed

open cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

on or close to the ground in a grassy location; these birds often nest in small colonies. They

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es and open

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

woods in the

southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

References

* *

;Books * Herkert, J. R., P. D. Vickery, and D. E. Kroodsma. 2002. ''Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii)''. In ''The Birds of North America'', No. 672 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. ;Reports * Austen MJ. (1993). ''Updated status report on the Henslow's sparrow (Ammodramus Henslowii) in Canada''. Canadian Research Index. p. n/a. * Austen MJ. (1997). ''National recovery plan for Henslow's sparrow''. Canadian Research Index. p. n/a. ;Theses * Bajema RA. PhD (2000). ''Modeling species distributions: Indiana's terrestrial vertebrate communities with special emphasis on the Henslow's sparrow''. Indiana State University, United States, Indiana. * Giocomo JJ. PhD (2005). ''Conservation of grassland bird populations on military installations in the eastern United States with special emphasis on Fort Campbell Army Base, Kentucky''. The University of Tennessee, United States, Tennessee. * Guzy MJ. PhD (2005). ''Habitat use, nesting biology, and within-season movements of grassland birds in southwest Wisconsin''. The University of Wisconsin - Madison, United States, Wisconsin. * Hanson LG. M.S. (1994). ''The Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii) of Minnesota: Population status and breeding habitat analysis''. Central Michigan University, United States, Michigan. * Harrell WC. PhD (2004). ''Importance of heterogeneity in a grassland ecosystem''. Oklahoma State University, United States, Oklahoma. * Herkert JR. PhD (1991). ''An ecological study of the breeding birds of grassland habitats within Illinois''. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States, Illinois. * Mazur RL. M.S. (1996). ''Implications of field management for Henslow's sparrow habitat at Saratoga National Historical Park, New York''. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, United States, New York. * McCoy TD. PhD (2000). ''Effects of landscape composition and multi-scale habitat characteristics on the grassland bird community''. University of Missouri - Columbia, United States, Missouri. * Robins JD. M.A. (1967). ''ECOLOGY OF HENSLOW'S SPARROW''. Western Michigan University, United States, Michigan. * Tucker JW Jr. PhD (2002). ''Influence of season and frequency of fire on Bachman's and Henslow's sparrows in longleaf pine forests of the Gulf Coastal Plain''. Auburn University, United States, Alabama. * Winter M. PhD (1998). ''Effect of

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...

on grassland-nesting birds in southwestern Missouri''. University of Missouri - Columbia, United States, Missouri. ;Articles * Applegate RD, Flock BE & Horak GJ. (2002). ''Spring burning and grassland area: Effects on Henslow's sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii (Audubon)) and Dickcissel (Spiza americana (Gmelin)) in Eastern Kansas, USA''. Natural Areas Journal. vol 22, no 2. pp. 160–162. * Arnold KA. (1983). ''A New Subspecies of Henslow Sparrow Ammodramus-Henslowii''. Auk. vol 100, no 2. pp. 504–505. * Bajema RA & Lima SL. (2001). ''Landscape-level analyses of Henslow's sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii) abundance in reclaimed coal mine grasslands''. American Midland Naturalist. vol 145, no 2. pp. 288–298. * Carrie NR, Robert OW, Kenneth RM, Jeffrey CS et al. (2002). ''Winter abundance of and habitat use by Henslow's Sparrows in Louisiana''. The Wilson Bulletin. vol 114, no 2. p. 221. * Catherine LB & Philip CS. (2005). ''HOME-RANGE SIZE, RESPONSE TO FIRE, AND HABITAT PREFERENCES OF WINTERING HENSLOW'S SPARROWS''. The Wilson Bulletin. vol 117, no 3. p. 211. * Cully JF Jr. & Michaels HL. (2000). ''Henslow's Sparrow habitat associations on Kansas tallgrass prairie''. Wilson Bulletin. vol 112, no 1. pp. 115–123. * Eckert KR. (1974). ''Henslows Sparrow and Bells Vireo in Southwest Minnesota''. Loon. vol 46, no 3. pp. 122–123. * Guzy MJ, Ribic CA & Sample DW. (2002). ''Helping at a Henslow's Sparrow nest in Wisconsin''. Wilson Bulletin. vol 114, no 3. pp. 407–409. * Herkert JR. (1994). ''Status and habitat selection of the Henslow's sparrow in Illinois''. Wilson Bulletin. vol 106, no 1. pp. 35–45. * Herkert JR. (1997). ''Population trends of the Henslow's sparrow in relation to the Conservation Reserve Program in Illinois, 1975–1995''. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 68, no 2. pp. 235–244. * Kim DH. (2005). ''First Nebraska nest record for Henslow's sparrow''. Prairie Naturalist. vol 37, no 3. pp. 171–173. * Maiken W. (1999). ''Nesting biology of Dickcissels and Henslow's sparrows in Southwestern Missouri prairie fragments''. The Wilson Bulletin. vol 111, no 4. p. 515. * Mangun JC & Kolb RL. (2000). ''Effects of grassland management on Henslow's sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, (Fringillidae), populations in eastern North Carolina''. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. vol 116, no 1. pp. 49–56. * McNair DB. (1998). ''Henslow's sparrow and sedge wren response to a dormant-season prescribed burn in a pine savanna''. Florida Field Naturalist. vol 26, no 2. pp. 46–47. * Patterson DE. (1968). ''Henslows Sparrow in Hardin County Tennessee USA Passerherbulus-Henslowii Behavior''. Migrant. vol 39, no 3. pp. 61–62. * Pranty B & Scheuerell MD. (1997). ''First summer record of the Henslow's sparrow in Florida''. Florida Field Naturalist. vol 25, no 2. pp. 64–66. * Reid W. (1992). ''Henslow's sparrow Ammodramus henslowii''. Brauning, D. vol W, p. Atlas of breeding birds in Pennsylvania. * Reinking DL, Wiedenfeld DA, Wolfe DH & Rohrbaugh RW Jr. (2000). ''Distribution, habitat use, and nesting success of Henslow's sparrow in Oklahoma''. Prairie Naturalist. vol 32, no 4. pp. 219–232. * Robb AB, Travis LD, Peter ES & Steven LL. (2001). ''Reclaimed coal mine grasslands and their significance for Henslow's sparrows in the American midwest''. The Auk. vol 118, no 2. p. 422. * Robins JD. (1971). ''A Study of Henslows Sparrow in Michigan''. Wilson Bulletin. vol 83, no 1. pp. 39–48. * Shaffer JA, Igl LD & Vanhove F. (2003). ''Historical and recent records and first nest records of Henslow's sparrow in North Dakota''. Prairie Naturalist. vol 35, no 2. pp. 81–94. * Sheldon P, Nicholas RH & Geoffrey EH. (1999). ''Habitat requirements of Henslow's Sparrows wintering in silvicultural lands of the Gulf Coastal Plain''. The Auk. vol 116, no 1. p. 109. * Thatcher BS, Krementz DG & Woodrey MS. (2006). ''Henslow's sparrow winter-survival estimates and response to prescribed burning''. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 70, no 1. pp. 198–206. * Tucker JW & Robinson WD. (2003). ''Influence of season and frequency of fire on Henslow's Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii) wintering on Gulf Coast pitcher plant bogs''. Auk. vol 120, no 1. pp. 96–106. * Zimmerman JL. (1988). ''Breeding Season Habitat Selection by the Henslow's Sparrow Ammodramus-Henslowii in Kansas USA''. Wilson Bulletin. vol 100, no 1. pp. 17–24.

External links