Clay-Colored Sparrow

Spizella pallida

The Clay-Colored Sparrow breeds in brushy areas from the Great Lakes and the prairies of the northern states and north into most of central Canada. They typically spend winters from southern Texas and south into most of Mexico.

Today’s science regards the Clay-Colored Sparrow as monotypic (i.e. no subspecies).

Pair bonds last but one season, and while males return to the same territory every year, the females will find new mates each summer. Chicks leave the nest a week before they can fly and hop around under the cover of dense brush where the parents feed them. When not nesting, these birds will group into flocks, often with other sparrows.

I first met this species in Canada while driving to Alaska in 2005. I did not meet them again until 2021 in south Texas. My Texas meetings were more productive than those in Canada. In 2022, while on my way to Canada, I met more of these birds in Montana.

15 Photos

Clay-colored Sparrow - Spizella pallida — **Clay-colored Sparrow**
*(Spizella pallida)*

**Description:**
(Spizella pallida) To date, this is the only individual of this species I've met. Little Lake, Alberta, Canada 2005-06-04.
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**Date Taken:** 2005:06:04 9:58

**Location:**

Little Lake
Saskatoon Island Privicial Park, Alberta
Canada
2345.91 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/12.0, 1/640

**File Name:** JCD3391.ClayColoredSparrow

© 2005 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging

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Pin It — **Clay-colored Sparrow**
*(Spizella pallida)*

**Description:**
(Spizella pallida) To date, this is the only individual of this species I've met. Little Lake, Alberta, Canada 2005-06-04.
Read More

**Date Taken:** 2005:06:04 9:58

**Location:**

Little Lake
Saskatoon Island Privicial Park, Alberta
Canada
2345.91 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/12.0, 1/640

**File Name:** JCD3391.ClayColoredSparrow

© 2005 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging

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