The Grasshopper Sparrow is a secretive little bird of open grasslands, named not only for its diet but for its song — a thin, dry, insect-like buzz that sounds so much like a grasshopper that many people walking past never realize a bird is singing. Flat-headed and short-tailed, with a plain buffy-orange breast and an intricate back pattern, it is easy to overlook as it creeps mouse-like through the grass. When it does perch up to sing, it chooses a low weed stem or fence wire and delivers its buzzy trill with its bill wide open.
It breeds in dry grasslands, hayfields, pastures, and restored prairie across Michigan, nesting on the ground beneath a dome of grass. Like other grassland specialists it has declined with the loss and fragmentation of open habitat and the intensification of farming, and it depends on well-managed grasslands for its survival. Insects, especially grasshoppers, make up much of its warm-season diet, along with seeds.
Feeds heavily on insects, especially grasshoppers, along with beetles, caterpillars, and spiders, and takes grass and weed seeds as well, particularly outside the breeding season. It forages on the ground within grassland cover, gleaning prey from the soil and low vegetation.
For two reasons: its song is a thin, dry, insect-like buzz that closely resembles a grasshopper, and grasshoppers are a major part of its summer diet.
It is a secretive grassland bird that creeps through the grass and often stays hidden. Its buzzy song is easily mistaken for an insect, so even singing birds are frequently overlooked.
Dry grasslands, hayfields, pastures, and restored prairie with open ground and scattered perches. It has declined with the loss and fragmentation of such habitat, so it benefits from grassland conservation and careful management.
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