Appearing like a Savannah sparrow at first glance, this flying Vesper sparrow shows its characteristic white outer tail feathers, rufus shoulders, and conspicuous eyering.
So far I have only identified these sparrows in September and October in Oasis Valley, in the same habitat as Savannah sparrows: the riverine saltgrass meadows with scattered shrubs and marsh edges.
Vesper sparrows prefer sparse grasslands and fields.
Vesper sparrows winter in California, southern and central Arizona, rarely in southwestern Utah, and much of the southern U.S. and into Mexico. Some winter in southern Nevada, but I have not yet identified them in our area. In Nevada, they breed in the northern part of the state in grassland and grass-sagebrush.
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