ML577695741
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Media notes
Cassin's Sparrow photographed by Curtis A. Marantz on 13 May 2023 in the southern part of the Carrizo Plain east of the Traver Ranch, Carrizo Plain National Monument, San Luis Obispo County, California.
Observation details
Given that it began getting light as I was traversing the southern part of the Carrizo Plain along Soda Lake Road, and that the habitat looked good for Cassin’s Sparrows, I decided to stop to listen well before I reached the elkhorn Plain location where others had reported this species. Within one minute of exiting my vehicle during my second stop along the road, I began hearing the distinctive song of a Cassin’s Sparrow. I then prepared my recording equipment and my camera and I marched north, northwest from where I parked along the road a short distance east of Traver Ranch through open grassland, if not more appropriately considered scrubland, given that in addition to the non-native Red Brome (Bromus rubens), there was also an extensive cover of what appeared to be both a phacelia of undetermined species (Phacelia sp.) and what appeared to be Common Fiddleneck (Amsinckia intermedia) reaching 50-60 centimeters along with scattered one-meter-tall shrubs that appeared to represent an undetermined species of saltbush (Atriplex sp.). Although the grass did not appear to dominate this community in most places, the dense herbaceous growth did impart the character of grassland. On reaching the vicinity of where the bird was singing, I spent an extended period of time observing this bird, taking photos, and making a few audio recordings, but because the sparrow had already slowed the pace of singing about the time the sun rose, I admittedly did a little playback to get it singing again. The playback also helped me get close views and good photos, but because I did not carry my scope with me, and that I concentrated on getting photos when this bird was at its closest points, I admittedly did not study this bird all that carefully, and to make matters worse, I waited almost two weeks to write my description, so some of the details that I did see were lost to my fading memory. I used my Zeiss 10 × 42 Victory SF binoculars to observe this bird and a Sony FE 200-600 mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS zoom lens on a Sony a7RV body to take photos from distances down to 10 meters with the early morning sun at my back, at least at times. Despite the superficial description based on my field observations, my photos and recordings are sufficient to document both this bird’s vocalizations and appearance. The song given repeatedly over the course of my visit was typical for this species in combining a few introductory elements, a musical trill, and then two or so clear elements at the end. I regularly observed (and recorded) this bird giving flight songs, but it also sang perched atop the scattered shrubs. Its skylarking flights typically began low before the bird would fly upward at a moderate angle and then sing as it fluttered back down to a perch. I also saw the sparrow drop to the ground for short periods, but it spent much of its time perched in the shrubs and often in the open at the tops of the saltbush. The calls that I heard represented a sharp, “tsick” that was louder than the calls of the Bell’s Sparrows but not substantially different from their calls. On more than one occasion, I saw this bird interact with the somewhat smaller Bell's Sparrows (Artemisiospiza belli) that are resident in this area, sometimes displacing them, but at least once perching nearby. I heard this bird singing or calling, at least intermittently during the entirety of the time that I was present at this site. This was a medium-sized sparrow that was somewhat larger and with a more elongate, overall appearance than nearby Bell’s Sparrows. I noted a rather large bill that tapered from a deep base to a pointed tip along a straight to slightly decurved culmen, but I did not compare the length of the bill to either its depth at the base or field-marks on the face. Given the large bill, the forehead was more weakly sloping than those of the Bell’s Sparrows and the crown was more gently rounded, if not appearing somewhat flattened, on a head that was unremarkable in size for a sparrow. I thought the neck was short and inconspicuous, and the body was relatively plump, full-chested, and with a posture that approached diagonal when the bird perched atop the shrubs with its tail held downward in the plane of the body. I thought the wings were relatively short and rounded, but I either failed to notice in the field or cannot now recall the primary projection precisely, though I did think the wingtips fell short of the tips of the longest undertail-coverts. The tail was relatively long and slim, but I cannot recall noting the shape at the tip. I thought this bird’s legs were slim but also relatively long, though it is possible that their pale coloration made them appear more conspicuous than otherwise would have been the case. This was a relatively plain, warm-brown sparrow, but even through binoculars I could see complex patterns, particularly on the upperparts. The face appeared to be relatively plain, though I could see a darker brown crown and a brownish auricular patch that was framed by dark postocular-stripe. The lores were pale, there was some suggestion of a buffy eyering, and the throat contrasted as paler than the auriculars, all imparting a pattern not unlike that of a Brewer’s Sparrow (Spizella breweri), though buffier. I also noted a faint suggestion of darker malar-stripes that were dingy and diffuse in character. The underparts were a warm, sandy-brown to buff in color, and lacking obvious pattern. I was unable to discern streaking on the flanks in the field, and I cannot recall noting the pattern on the underside of the tail, or even if the corners were tipped paler. The back and scapulars were intricately patterned with dark brown and on more rufescent tones, but through binoculars I found it difficult to discern the finer details of a pattern that generally appeared mottled. The wings did not contrast conspicuously with the upperparts, but they did have paler fringes that may have been more brownish as edges and more cream-colored as tips, at least on the greater coverts, on which the pattern was that of a subtle wingbar. The remiges were finely edges with sandy-brown to buff, but with the innermost secondaries having clear, internal markings that framed the paler fringes along the edges and tips. I remembered quite clearly that that reddish brown uppertail-coverts had dark centers, but I was less sure about the shapes of the dark, internal markings. I saw the upperside of the tail only as dark brown. I could not discern any barring or paler tips to the outer feathers, but I also could not be sure that they were lacking. The bill was a light fleshy-horn color with a darker culmen, the eyes were dark brown, and legs and feet were a relatively bright, fleshy-pink in color and quite conspicuously so.
Technical information
- Model
- ILCE-7RM5
- Lens
- FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
- ISO
- 320
- Focal length
- 600 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire
- f-stop
- f/8.0
- Shutter speed
- 1/1600 sec
- Dimensions
- 4195 pixels x 2631 pixels
- Original file size
- 9.98 MB