Original description: Emberiza pallida Swainson 1832
Taxonomic history in AOU/AOS Check-list
AOU 1 (1886): Clay-colored Sparrow, Spizella pallida
AOU 2 (1895): Clay-colored Sparrow, Spizella pallida
AOU 3 (1910): Clay-colored Sparrow, Spizella pallida
AOU 4 (1931): Clay-colored Sparrow, Spizella pallida
AOU 5 (1957): Clay-colored Sparrow, Spizella pallida
AOU 6 (1983): Clay-colored Sparrow, Spizella pallida
AOU 7 (1998): Clay-colored Sparrow, Spizella pallida
IUCN Conservation Status: Of least concern
Behavior: Like the other brown Spizella sparrows, the Clay-colored is a relatively trusting bird, feeding tamely on the ground and flushing only when an observer approaches too close too fast. Foraging birds hop inconspicuously across lawns or on woodland edges, taking seeds and small insects from the ground; in spring migration, they often feed at the tips of branches, warbler-like.
In direct flight away, Clay-colored Sparrows can be picked out in flocks of Chipping Sparrows by their tan, not silvery, rumps—and vice versa, in areas and at seasons where Clay-colored Sparrows are more abundant. The flight is strong but swooping, and flocks land, like Chipping Sparrows, in the outer branches of bushes and trees, individuals evenly spaced.
Males sing from a low perch, occasionally atop short trees but most commonly from shrubs, especially cedars and other conifers, and fences; migrants may sing from the ground. The tail is slightly depressed and the head held high when singing, the pale bill opened.
Voice: The usual call of the Clay-colored Sparrow, given perched or in flight, is a short, hesitant dzip, with strong attack and very little audible decay. The song is traditionally described as insect-like, a series of three or four, and occasionally as many as eight, widely separated buzzes, each buzz slightly faster and less coarse than the final note of a Blue-winged Warbler’s song.
Detailed description and measurements drawn from standard reference works
Adult: Tail feathers dark brownish slaty with paler grayish edges. Upper tail coverts dull brown-tan with darker shaft streaks, rump dull brown-tan. Back and scapulars buffy brown, the feathers with broad black shaft streaks aligning into long stripes. Primaries and secondaries dusky gray with pale buffy grayish edges, buffier and broader on inner secondaries. Tertials dusky with broad buffy brown edges on outer web and diffuse whitish edges on inner. Greater coverts with dusky centers and pale buffy edges flowing into pale buffy whitish tips; median coverts dusky with pale buffy whitish edges. Greater and median coverts form two conspicuous buffy or whitish wing bars. Marginal coverts of under wing white. Nape covered by broad silvery gray collar, crossed by two well-defined lines joining brown of lateral crown stripes with brown of back and isolating silvery gray square or rectangle at center of nape.
Under tail coverts, vent, belly, breast, and throat dull whitish. Flanks and breast with pale grayish buffy tinge; in formative plumage, breast with broad buffy yellowish band. Throat dull white to buffy white; separated from dull white to buffy white jaw stripe by distinct dark dusky or brownish lateral throat stripe. Jaw stripe bordered above by clear dusky brown whisker, broadening to rear.
Crown pale brown with distinct median stripe pale gray, buffy grayish, or buffy whitish. Broad lateral crown stripes boldly streaked blackish. Broad, distinct supercilium dull white to buffy white, essentially equal to jaw stripe in tone and width. Ear coverts buffy brown with dark flecking, bordered below by clear dusky brown whisker and above by dusky brown eye line. White eye ring conspicuous below eye, inconspicuous or absent above. Lore and front of long supercilium dull buffy.
Tarsus and toes pink to pinkish brown. Rather long, deep-based bill pinkish brown above, brownish pink below.
Juvenile: Tail feathers dark brownish slaty with paler grayish edges. Upper tail coverts dull grayish brown with darker shaft streaks, rump dull grayish brown with faint streaking. Back and scapulars buffy grayish, the feathers with broad black shaft streaks aligning into conspicuous blackish stripes. Primaries and secondaries dusky gray with pale buffy grayish edges, buffier and broader on inner secondaries. Tertials dusky with broad buffy brown edges on outer web and diffuse whitish edges on inner. Greater coverts with dusky centers and pale buffy edges flowing into pale yellowish or buffy whitish tips; median coverts dusky with pale yellowish or buffy whitish edges. Greater and median coverts form two conspicuous yellowish or whitish wing bars. Marginal coverts of under wing white. Nape covered by broad gray collar with conspicuous narrow blackish streaks.
Under tail coverts and vent dark buffy. Belly, breast, and throat dull buffy with conspicuous sparse dark brown streaking. Throat buffy white with faint streaks and spots; separated from dull buffy jaw stripe by fairly distinct dark dusky or brownish lateral throat stripe. Jaw stripe bordered above by dusky brown whisker.
Crown grayish brown with dense narrow brown streaking. Broad, poorly defined supercilium brownish or buffy, usually slightly browner than jaw stripe. Ear coverts grayish brown with dark flecking, bordered below by dusky brown whisker and above by inconspicuous brown eye line. Yellowish eye ring conspicuous below eye, less conspicuous above. Lore and front of long supercilium brownish or buffy.
Tarsus and toes pink to pinkish brown. Rather long, deep-based bill pinkish above and below.
Length 118-137 mm (4.6-5.4 inches)
Wing 58-64 mm (2.3-2.5 inches)
Tail 53-62 mm (2.1-2.4 inches)
W:T 1.05
Mass 12 g
