Bachman's sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis ) (also known as the "Pinewoods Sparrow" or "Oakwoods Sparrow") is a small American sparrow that is endemic to the southeastern United States. This species was named in honor of Reverend John Bachman.
Adults have rufous brown upperparts and crown with gray and black streaking on the nape, back and primaries. The face is gray with a rufous brown eyestripe. It has a buff colored breast and whitish belly. These are mid-sized New World sparrows, measuring 12.2–16.2 cm (4.8–6.4 in) and weighing 18.4–23 g (0.65–0.81 oz).
Their breeding habitat is open pine forests. The domed nest is usually built on the ground near a clump of grass or a bush. Females lay three to five eggs.
Bachman's sparrow is primarily a non-migratory resident, but it may retreat from some of the most northerly territories. The species is mainly a granivore, but it will also take some insects.
This bird is considered near threatened by the IUCN, with habitat loss one of the major factors often cited in its decline. Habitat degradation due to later stages of forest succession has also been attributed to the decline of this species. Prescribed forest burns may assist in recovery.
The song begins as a clear whistle, followed by a short trill.
Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of pla...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withBachman's sparrows occur primarily in the southeastern United States from the central region of peninsular Florida north to southeastern North Carolina and west through portions of Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri to eastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas. Following forest conversion and the spread of agricultural fields up into the early 1900s, Bachman's sparrows rapidly expanded their range and began breeding in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and parts of Pennsylvania. However, this trend reversed during the 1930s as much of the eastern deciduous forest recovered. Bachman's sparrows are thought to have been extirpated from Virginia in the early 2000s, and North Carolina is now the northern periphery of their eastern range.
Among the three subspecies of Bachman's sparrow, Peucaea aestivalis aestivalis breeds furthest east, from southeast South Carolina to peninsular Florida. Peucaea a. bachmanii occurs west of P. a. aestivalis to Mississippi and north to Kentucky. P. a. illinoensis occurs in the westernmost region of the species' range.
Bachman's sparrows inhabit areas with a dense layer of ground vegetation and open mid-stories with scattered shrubs and saplings, including young clearcuts and open pine (Pinus spp.) forests.
Reviews and a field guide summarize the limited information available on Bachman's sparrow migration. Bachman's sparrows in the southern portion of their range are resident, while those in Missouri, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, parts of North Carolina, and extreme northern Mississippi and Alabama have been thought to migrate south during winter. Historical records suggest that Bachman's sparrows that once bred from Illinois to Pennsylvania did migrate to the south. Records of Bachman's sparrow occurrence on breeding grounds and specimens of subspecies collected outside their normal breeding range suggest that spring migration occurs from mid-March to May and fall migration occurs from late August through to late October. However, migration of Bachman's sparrows in the northern part of their current range is not well understood and it may be that suitable habitat conditions do not necessitate migration. Because of their secretive nature, determining the presence of Bachman's sparrows is difficult outside of the breeding season, when individuals rarely sing and perch visibly. However, examination of eBird data from recent decades suggests that several populations of Bachman's sparrows remain in North Carolina for the winter.
Bachman's sparrows forage on the ground for plant seeds and arthropods. In a predominately loblolly and shortleaf pine habitat of eastern Texas, all Bachman's sparrow foraging observations were on the ground and a literature review states that Bachman's sparrows rarely forage in shrubs.
Reviews and an investigation of the Bachman sparrow's diet in eastern Texas summarize the species that comprise the Bachman's sparrow's diet. A variety of grass seeds such as panicgrasses, bristlegrasses (Setaria sp.), crowngrasses (Paspalum spp.), and threeawns are eaten by Bachman's sparrows as well as seeds of several other taxa, including blueberries (Vaccinium spp), pines, and sedges (Carex spp). Arthropods in the Bachman's sparrow's diet include grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera spp.), spiders (Araneae), beetles (Coleoptera spp.), caterpillars (Lepidoptera spp.), wasps (Hymenoptera), and leafhoppers (Cicadellidae). Insects comprise more of the Bachman's sparrow diet in spring and fall than in winter. Stomach contents of Bachman's sparrow collected in eastern Texas in summer (n=5) and fall (n=11) had a greater abundance of insects than those collected in winter (n=4).
Bachman's sparrows' breeding season typically begins in April and continues through August. The earliest date for Bachman's sparrow eggs in Florida is 14 April and the latest date is 4 August. The earliest Bachman's sparrow nest found during a study in longleaf pine habitat of South Carolina was 10 April, while the latest nest found was early in the incubation stage on 5 August. In a study of Bachman's sparrow reproduction in shortleaf and loblolly pine plantations of Arkansas, egg laying started as early as 17 April and continued until 26 August. However, 85% of clutches were started in May, June, or July.
Bachman's sparrows typically raise 2 broods per breeding season and will renest after failed attempts. In shortleaf and loblolly pine plantations of Arkansas, the average time between fledging of the 1st brood and starting the second brood was 12.3 days. This was not significantly (p=0.39) different from the 9.7-day average period between a failed nest and a subsequent nest attempt. On average, females attempted 3.1 nests per season. The maximum number of attempts per season was five. The maximum number of nests attempted in longleaf pine habitat of South Carolina was also five. After two successful nests, a female attempted three times to raise a third brood. Limited evidence suggests that three broods per season may occur occasionally.
Bachman's sparrow nests are constructed on the ground by females and are primarily made of grasses. All nests (n=71) found in a study in shortleaf and loblolly pine plantations of Arkansas were built on the ground. Most nests (70%) were built at the base of bluestem clumps, although nests were found at the base of small trees, forbs, and other grass species. Bachman's sparrow nests are dome-shaped with an opening typically oriented to the north. However, there is some variation in nest shape and on the Arkansas study site above, only 7% of nests were not either partially or completely domed. Bachman's sparrow nest shape may vary geographically, as nests found farther north in their historic range were infrequently domed.
Clutch size varies from three to five. Average clutch size on a site in Arkansas was 3.9, while in a longleaf pine community in South Carolina mean clutch size was 3.6. Both of these studies found significant (p≤0.02) decreases in clutch size as the breeding season progressed. On a dry prairie site in Florida (n=9) average clutch size was 3.44 and on another (n=5) it was 3.6. In shortleaf and loblolly pine plantations of Arkansas, females laid an average of 11.6 eggs (n=20) over the course of the breeding season.
In shortleaf and loblolly pine plantations in Arkansas, females incubated eggs for 13 to 14 days. The average nestling period was 9 days, and the average period between fledging and independence was 25 days. Both parents care for the young during these periods. A review suggests that Bachman's sparrows probably breed the year after hatching.
Bachman's sparrows exhibit some fidelity to breeding sites. Over a two-year period in shortleaf and loblolly pine plantations of central Arkansas, 6 of 34 adults returned to areas where they had a territory in a previous year. This varied across years, with a 29% return rate of adult birds banded in 1983 and none of the adults banded in 1984 returning to the site in 1985. No juveniles (n=60) returned to the site.
