Subject: Re: Savannah Sparrows?
Date: Sep 17 13:18:02 1996
From: Dennis Paulson - dpaulson at mirrors.ups.edu


>I have been hiking a lot on the Cascades near Roslyn and Salmon la Sac. On at
>least 3 occasions in the last couple of weeks, I have seen Savannah Sparrows
>moving through mountain passes (at 5000+ feet). Given the difficulty of
>identifying juveniles at this time of year, I kept thinking they might be
>Lincoln's Sparrows, but their field marks match up very well as Savannah
>Sparrows, except for a noticeable yellowish eyebrow. I was somewhat surprised
>to find them frequently in these high locations. Is this a normal migration
>pattern for this species? Thanks.
>Brenda Senturia
>Bbsenturia at aol.com

Yes. Most of our sparrows migrate throughout the elevation range of plant
growth, usually in areas of their preferred habitats (Savannahs in the
open, Lincoln's in the shrubbery, etc.). Streaked breast and yellowish
eyebrow could only be Savannah.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 206-756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 206-756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416