The Clay-colored Sparrow is a pale, cleanly marked little sparrow of brushy open country, crisper and paler than the similar Chipping Sparrow, with a finely streaked crown split by a pale central stripe, a brown ear patch outlined in darker brown, and a distinctive plain gray nape and collar. Trim and neat, it forages on the ground and low in shrubs, and it is often located by its unusual song — not a musical trill but a series of flat, insect-like buzzes, "bzzz... bzzz... bzzz," that sounds more like a grasshopper than a bird.
A species of the northern prairies and brushlands, the Clay-colored Sparrow has expanded eastward and breeds locally in Michigan in brushy fields, shrubby grasslands, young conifer plantations, and scrubby edges, favoring the same early-successional habitat as several other shrubland birds. Elsewhere in the state it occurs as a migrant. Its pale, contrasting head pattern and buzzy song make it a rewarding find, and picking one out from among the commoner Chipping Sparrows in a brushy field is a satisfying identification.
Feeds mainly on the seeds of grasses and weeds gathered from the ground and low plants, switching to insects during the breeding season to feed young. It forages in and beneath brushy vegetation in open country, taking small seeds and invertebrates.
The Clay-colored Sparrow is paler and crisper, with a striped (not solid rusty) crown, a brown ear patch outlined in dark, and a distinctive plain gray nape. Its buzzy, insect-like song is very different from the Chipping Sparrow's dry musical trill.
A series of flat, low, insect-like buzzes — "bzzz... bzzz... bzzz" — that sounds more like a grasshopper or cicada than a typical bird song. It is one of the easiest ways to detect the species.
Locally in brushy fields, shrubby grasslands, young conifer plantations, and scrubby edges, having expanded eastward from the northern prairies. Elsewhere in the state it occurs as a migrant.
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