Bird Names "S"

Savannah Sparrow

SAVANNAH SPARROW (Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna) Finch family
Called also: SAVANNAH BUNTING
Length: 5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English sparrow. Male and Female: Cheeks, space over the eye, and on the bend of the wings pale yellow. General effect of the upper parts brownish drab, streaked with black. Wings and tail dusky, the […]


Scarlet Tanager

SCARLET TANAGER (Piranga erythromelas) Tanager family
Called also: BLACK-WINGED REDBIRD; FIREBIRD; CANADA TANAGER; POCKET-BIRD


Length: 7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin. Male: In spring plumage: Brilliant scarlet, with black wings And tail. Under wing coverts grayish white. In autumn: Similar to female. Female: Olive-green above; […]


Seaside Sparrow

SEASIDE SPARROW (Ammodramus maritimus) Finch family
Called also: MEADOW CHIPPY; SEASIDE FINCH
Length: 6 inches. A shade smaller than the English sparrow. Male and Female: Upper parts dusky grayish or olivaceous brown, inclining to gray on shoulders and on edges of some feathers. Wings and tail darkest. Throat yellowish white, shading to gray on breast, which […]


Sharp-Tailed Sparrow

SHARP-TAILED SPARROW (Ammodramus caudacutus) Finch family
Length: 5.25 to 5.85 inches. A trifle smaller than the English sparrow. Male and Female: Upper parts brownish or grayish olive, the back with black streaks, and gray edges to some feathers. A gray line through center of crown, which has maroon stripes; gray ears enclosed by buff lines, […]


Short-Billed Marsh Wren

SHORT-BILLED MARSH WREN (Cistothorus stellaris) Wren family
Called also: SEDGE WREN
Length: 4 to 5 inches. Actually about one-third smaller than the English sparrow, but apparently only half its size. Male and Female: Brown above, faintly streaked with white, black, and buff. Wings and tail barred with same. Underneath white, with buff and rusty tinges on […]


Smith’s Painted Longspur

SMITH’S PAINTED LONGSPUR (Calcarius pictus) Finch family
Called also: SMITH’S LONGSPUR
Length: 6.5 inches. About the size of a large English sparrow. Male and Female: Upper parts marked with black, brown, and white, like a sparrow; brown predominant. Male bird with more black about head, shoulders, and tail feathers, and a whitish patch, edged with black, […]


Snow Bunting

SNOW BUNTING (Plectrophenax nivalis) Finch family
Called also: SNOWFLAKE; WHITEBIRD; SNOWBIRD; SNOW LARK
Length: 7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin. Male and Female: Head, neck, and beneath soiled white, with a few reddish-brown feathers on top of head, and suggesting an imperfect collar. Above, grayish brown obsoletely streaked with black, the markings […]


Solitary Vireo

SOLITARY VIREO (Vireo solitarius) Vireo or Greenlet family
Called also: BLUE-HEADED VIREO
Length: 5.5 to 7 inches. A little smaller than the English sparrow. Male: Dusky olive above; head bluish gray, with a white line around the eye, spreading behind the eye into a patch. Beneath whitish, with yellow-green wash on the sides. Wings dusky olive, […]


Song Sparrow

SONG SPARROW (Melospiza fasciata) Finch family
Length: 6 to 6.5 inches. About the same size as the English sparrow. Male and Female: Brown head, with three longitudinal gray bands brown stripe on sides of throat. Brownish-gray back streaked with rufous. Underneath gray, shading to white, heavily streaked with darkest brown. A black spot on breast. […]


Starling

STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris)
Called also: EUROPEAN STARLING
Length: 8 to 9 inches. Weight about equals that of robin, but the starling, with its short, drooping tail, is chunkier in appearance. Male: Iridescent black with glints of purple, green, and blue. On back the black feathers, with iridescence of green and bronze, are tipped with brown, as […]


Summer Tanager

SUMMER TANAGER (Piranga rubra) Tanager family
Called also: REDBIRD; SMOOTH-HEADED REDBIRD
Length: 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin. Male: Uniform red. Wings and tail like the body. Female: Upper parts yellowish olive-green; underneath inclining to orange-yellow. Range: Tropical portions of two Americas and eastern United States. Most common in Southern States. Rare north of […]


Swamp Song Sparrow

SWAMP SONG SPARROW (Melospiza georgiana) Finch family
Called also: SWAMP SPARROW; MARSH SPARROW; RED GRASS-BIRD; SWAMP FINCH
Length: 5 to 5.8 inches. A little smaller than the English sparrow. Male: Forehead black; crown, which in winter has black stripes, is always bright bay; line over the eye, sides of the neck gray. Back brown, striped with […]