The Seaside Sparrow(Ammospiza maritima) is a large, dark sparrow, well-named for its preferred habitats of salt and brackish marshes. Although it shares habitat with other shoreline-loving sparrows such as the Saltmarsh Sparrows(Ammospiza caudacuta) and Nelson’s Sparrows(Ammospiza nelsoni), it is noticeably bigger and darker. Sometimes called the “Goldilocks Bird,” this sparrow needs a combination of environmental factors that are “just right” in order to breed successfully.
Ornithologists recognize seven subspecies of Seaside Sparrow, distributed along the U.S. Atlantic Coast south through the Gulf Coast of Texas. Some of these subspecies are endangered, and one is extinct. Which Seaside Sparrow subspecies went extinct, and why?
Read on to find out more: https://www.abcbirds.org/bird/seaside-sparrow
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