Family: Emberizidae, New World Sparrows view all from this family

Description 6" (15 cm). A dull-colored nondescript bird, streaked above, plain below, with buff breast.

Habitat Dry open pine or oak woods with a scattering of scrub; overgrown weedy fields and pastures.

Nesting 4 white eggs in a domed nest made of plant fibers and placed on the ground in a grass clump or at the base of a bush or palmetto; nest has entrance on the side.

Range Southeastern United States, breeding north to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, but very local. Winters chiefly in southern Atlantic and Gulf Coast states.

Voice   Clear, sweet whistle followed by a trill on a different pitch.

Discussion In the southern parts of this bird's range, its older name, "Pine-woods Sparrow," is more appropriate since it dwells in open stretches of pines with grass and scattered shrubs for ground cover. Farther north it is also commonly found in abandoned fields and pastures. Bachman's Sparrow spends much of the time feeding on the ground, where it is hard to see except when it mounts a bush or weed stalk to sing. Like many other sparrows, it feeds on insects such as crickets and beetles, and on seeds of grasses and sedges. The bird was named by Audubon for his close friend Dr. John Bachman (1790-1874), who discovered the species in South Carolina.