Anthus spragueii
Silhouette: Susan Murphy (original photograph), T. Michael Keesey (vectorization) · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
Sprague's pipit (Anthus spragueii) is a small songbird (passerine) in the family Motacillidae that breeds in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of North America. Migratory, it spends the winters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Sprague's pipits are unusual among songbirds in that they sing high in the sky, somewhat like a goldfinch or skylark. It is more often identified by its distinctive descending song heard from above than by being seen on the ground. Males and females are cryptically coloured and similar in appearance; they are a buffy brown with darker streaking, slender bills and pinkish to yellow legs. Sprague's pipit summer habitat is primarily native grasslands in the north central prairies of the United States and Canada (distinguishing them from the American subspecies of the buff-bellied pipit, which breed in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Arctic). The species was named after the botanical illustrator Isaac Sprague.
Measurements: Length: 5.9–6.7 in (15–17 cm) Weight: 0.6-0.9 oz (18.2-27 g) Wingspan: 10 in (25.4 cm) Found in mixed or short grass prairie throughout the central northern Great Plains of North America... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sprague's Pipit sighting in Houston on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 285th most-seen of the 302 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sprague's Pipit in Houston on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sprague's Pipit sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Sprague's Pipit sightings, Houston has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Austin (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sprague's Pipit is recorded against all the birds logged in Houston (12 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
