Savannah Sparrow: Yellow dot above the eye

Savannah Sparrow, singing in the evening © SB

Savannah Sparrows are easy to recognize, as long as you get a chance see the feathers near their eyes.

Yes, Savannah Sparrows are little brown birds, and little brown birds are confusing (to me, at least)!

But these crisply striped, mid-sized sparrows have a distinctive yellow spot before their eyes.

And although they sound more like an insect than a song bird, I have a higher percentage of shots of Savannah Sparrows singing in my files than I have of any other bird. Singing, that is.

Here are a few Savannah Sparrows I saw recently when we visited Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan.

These were taken late in the evening, when I was walking across the grass to look at the angles of light falling into coulees of the Frenchman River Valley.

Perhaps I walked too near the nest — I tried to skirt further away, when I saw the Savannah Sparrow singing — or perhaps it was simply the right time of day for him or her to sing.

Close-up view of Savannah Sparrow and distinctive yellow spot before its eye. © SB

Okay, now the Savannah Sparrow is singing at me...
Time to go in case I'm alarming it... © SB

What are these birds?  Savannah Sparrow  

Location: Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, Canada. 

Photo date:  June 24, 2015.

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