Ammospiza caudacuta
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The saltmarsh sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta) is a small New World sparrow found in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States. At one time, this bird and the Nelson's sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni) were thought to be a single species, the sharp-tailed sparrow. Because of this, the species was briefly known as the "saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow." Saltmarsh sparrow numbers are declining due to habitat loss largely attributed to human activity.
The saltmarsh sparrow was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the orioles in the genus Oriolus and coined the binomial name Oriolus caudacutus. He gave the locality as New York. Gmelin based his own description on those for the "sharp-tailed oriole" that had been described by John Latham in 1782 and by Thomas Pennant in 1785. The saltmarsh sparrow is now one of four American sparrows placed in the genus Ammospiza that was introduced by Harry C. Oberholser in 1905. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek αμμος (ammos) meaning "sand" and σπιζα (spiza) meaning "finch". The specific epithet caudacuta... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Saltmarsh Sparrow sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 250th most-seen of the 279 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 Saltmarsh Sparrow in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Saltmarsh Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Saltmarsh Sparrow sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Everglades National Park (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Saltmarsh Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
