Le Conte's Sparrow
Encyclopedia
The Le Conte’s Sparrow, Ammodramus leconteii, is one of the smallest sparrow
species in North America
.
It is a very secretive bird that prefers to spend most of its time on the ground under the cover of tall grasses. They are typically very difficult to flush, often only flushing at a distance of 1-3 m as they prefer to run across the ground. When they do emerge they rarely fly more than a foot or two above the grass and often descend again within a few meters. Because it is so rarely seen, there are still many gaps in knowledge about the Le Conte’s Sparrow. Nests are often very hard to find, and individuals are more often identified by sound than by sight.
and short pointed tail. It has a buffy yellow-orange face with gray cheeks
, and a dark brown crown with a white central stripe. The nape of the neck
is lilac gray with chestnut streaks, and the back is streaked with brown and beige. Its belly is off white, while the breast and sides are a buffy orange-yellow with dark brown streaks. The feet and legs are a brownish-pink color.
There has been a recorded case of a Le Conte's Sparrow hybridized with a Nelson's Sparrow, in June 1949 in Ontario.
Passerifomes
, which are the perching birds, sometimes less accurately referred to as the songbirds
. It is from the Family
Emberizidae
, which is characterized by species of small birds with bills adapted to seed eating. Most members of this family are referred to as Sparrows in North America and as Buntings
in Europe
. Within the sparrows, the Le Conte’s falls within the Genus
Ammodramus
, which are the ground loving sparrows, which prefer staying in tall, thick grasses to perching on trees. All of the species for which the Le Conte’s is most easily confused (Nelson’s Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, etc) belong to this Genus.
The Le Conte’s Sparrow was discovered by John James Audubon
, and it was thought that he named this bird after a friend, Doctor Le Conte. It is generally believed that he meant John Lawrence Le Conte, although some feel that he was referring to another John Le Conte
, also a doctor, and John Lawrence's cousin.
, across Alberta
, Saskatchewan
and southern Manitoba
as well as central Ontario
and into Quebec
; and as far south as northern Michigan
, Montana
and Minnesota
. It winters in the south eastern United States
; as far west as central Texas
and as far north as central Illinois
and Missouri
.
buzz with a short squeaky introductory note and ending with a short chirp. It is often described as tika-zzzzzzzzzzzz-tik while the call is a short tsip. It is most commonly confused with the song of the Nelson's Sparrow
. The male generally sings from a concealed location, but can also be seen singing from the top of protruding grass stems, or occasionally in flight.
such as weevils
, leafhoppers
, leaf beetles
, stinkbugs, caterpillars
, moths
and spiders
. During the winter time the main diet consists of seeds
of grasses
and weeds
such as Northern Drop Seed, Indian Grass, Yellow Foxtail, Panic-Grass, Scorpion-grass, Little Bluestem
, and Big Bluestem
.
can start as early as late April but peaks in mid-May. Males will sing from the cover of dense grasses, perched on tall grass or in flight. Clutches range from 2-6 eggs with 4 being the most common. Incubation
is done solely by the female, though both parents aid in feeding. Incubation lasts an average of 11-13 days. Hatchling
s are altricial
with dull brown downy
patches. Pairs will have one or two broods per year. Due to the secretive nature of this bird little is known about the period of time between hatching and fledging
.
are built by the female and are cup shaped, made from fine grasses and lined with soft grass and hair
. They are usually attached to standing grasses or sedges
and are built on or close to the ground.
are 18 X 14 mm long and are sub elliptical
in shape. Eggs are white with undertones of green, grey or blue; covered in fine brown dots, speckles or splotches usually clustered near large end of egg.
American sparrow
American sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
species in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
It is a very secretive bird that prefers to spend most of its time on the ground under the cover of tall grasses. They are typically very difficult to flush, often only flushing at a distance of 1-3 m as they prefer to run across the ground. When they do emerge they rarely fly more than a foot or two above the grass and often descend again within a few meters. Because it is so rarely seen, there are still many gaps in knowledge about the Le Conte’s Sparrow. Nests are often very hard to find, and individuals are more often identified by sound than by sight.
Description
The Le Conte’s Sparrow is a small sparrow with a relatively large head, short gray billBeak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
and short pointed tail. It has a buffy yellow-orange face with gray cheeks
Cheek
Cheeks constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. They may also be referred to as jowls. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve...
, and a dark brown crown with a white central stripe. The nape of the neck
Nape
The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is referred to by the word nucha, which also gives the adjective corresponding to "nape" in English, "nuchal"....
is lilac gray with chestnut streaks, and the back is streaked with brown and beige. Its belly is off white, while the breast and sides are a buffy orange-yellow with dark brown streaks. The feet and legs are a brownish-pink color.
Measurements
The measurements for both sexes are:- Length: 4.7 in/ 12 cm
- Wingspan: 7.1 in/18 cm
- Weight: 0.4-0.6 oz/ 12-16 g
Similar Birds
The Le Conte's Sparrow is commonly mistaken for:- Nelson's SparrowNelson's SparrowThe Nelson's Sparrow is a small sparrow. Adults have brownish upperparts with grey on the crown and nape, a cream-coloured breast with light or indistinct streaking and a white throat and belly; they have an orange face with grey cheeks and a short pointed tail.Their breeding habitat is marshes on...
- Grasshopper SparrowGrasshopper SparrowThe Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum, is a small sparrow. The Ammodramus genus of 11 species inhabit grasslands and marshes....
- Henslow's SparrowHenslow's SparrowHenslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, is a small American sparrow.Adults have streaked brown upperparts with a light brown breast with streaks, a white belly and a white throat...
- Saltmarsh SparrowSaltmarsh SparrowThe Saltmarsh Sparrow, Ammodramus caudacutus, is a small sparrow. At one time, this bird and the Nelson's Sparrow were thought to be a single species, the Sharp-tailed Sparrow...
- Baird's SparrowBaird's SparrowThe Baird's Sparrow, Ammodramus bairdii, is a small North American sparrow.-Overview:These birds have a large bill, a large flat head, and a short forked tail. They have brown upper parts and white underparts, with streaking on the back, breast, and flanks...
There has been a recorded case of a Le Conte's Sparrow hybridized with a Nelson's Sparrow, in June 1949 in Ontario.
Taxonomy
The Le Conte’s Sparrow is a member of the OrderOrder (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Passerifomes
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
, which are the perching birds, sometimes less accurately referred to as the songbirds
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
. It is from the Family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Emberizidae
Emberizidae
The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the sparrows, the...
, which is characterized by species of small birds with bills adapted to seed eating. Most members of this family are referred to as Sparrows in North America and as Buntings
Bunting (bird)
Buntings are a group of Eurasian and African passerine birds of the family Emberizidae.They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills, and are the Old World equivalents of the species known in North America as sparrows...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Within the sparrows, the Le Conte’s falls within the Genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Ammodramus
Ammodramus
The genus Ammodramus is a group of American sparrows in the family Emberizidae. Ammodramus is Latin for "Sand Runner." Typical of these thick grass and ground loving sparrows....
, which are the ground loving sparrows, which prefer staying in tall, thick grasses to perching on trees. All of the species for which the Le Conte’s is most easily confused (Nelson’s Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, etc) belong to this Genus.
The Le Conte’s Sparrow was discovered by John James Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...
, and it was thought that he named this bird after a friend, Doctor Le Conte. It is generally believed that he meant John Lawrence Le Conte, although some feel that he was referring to another John Le Conte
John Le Conte
John Le Conte was an American scientist and academic. He served as President of the University of California, Berkeley.-Biography:...
, also a doctor, and John Lawrence's cousin.
Range
The Le Conte’s Sparrow breeds in select areas of north eastern British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, across Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
and southern Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
as well as central Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and into Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
; and as far south as northern Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. It winters in the south eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; as far west as central Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and as far north as central Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
.
Habitat
The Le Conte’s Sparrow prefers moist open grassy areas with sufficient vegetation cover to provide shelter. Known habitat use includes meadows, fields, crop stubble, shallow marshy edges, prairie, and occasionally fens and lake-shores within the boreal forest. Studies have shown that vegetation seems to have a greater impact on the abundance of this bird than other factors like climate or patch size. Winter et.al. (2005) says that it can be found at highest densities in areas with a “moderate amounts of bare ground”. Agriculture and drainage of these areas is currently the greatest threat to the Le Conte's Sparrow.Vocalizations
The male’s song resembles a grasshopperGrasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
buzz with a short squeaky introductory note and ending with a short chirp. It is often described as tika-zzzzzzzzzzzz-tik while the call is a short tsip. It is most commonly confused with the song of the Nelson's Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
The Nelson's Sparrow is a small sparrow. Adults have brownish upperparts with grey on the crown and nape, a cream-coloured breast with light or indistinct streaking and a white throat and belly; they have an orange face with grey cheeks and a short pointed tail.Their breeding habitat is marshes on...
. The male generally sings from a concealed location, but can also be seen singing from the top of protruding grass stems, or occasionally in flight.
Diet
Diet in the summer is mostly insectsInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
such as weevils
Weevil
A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small, less than , and herbivorous. There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae...
, leafhoppers
Leafhopper
Leafhopper is a common name applied to any species from the family Cicadellidae. Leafhoppers, colloquially known as hoppers, are minute plant-feeding insects in the superfamily Membracoidea in the order Hemiptera...
, leaf beetles
Leaf beetle
Beetles in the family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles. This is a family of over 35,000 species in more than 2,500 genera, one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families....
, stinkbugs, caterpillars
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
, moths
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
and spiders
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
. During the winter time the main diet consists of seeds
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
of grasses
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
and weeds
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
such as Northern Drop Seed, Indian Grass, Yellow Foxtail, Panic-Grass, Scorpion-grass, Little Bluestem
Little bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium, commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a North American prairie grass. Little bluestem is a perennial bunchgrass and is prominent in tallgrass prairie, along with big bluestem , indiangrass and switchgrass...
, and Big Bluestem
Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardii, known also as Big bluestem, Turkey foot, Prairie tallgrass, or simply Tallgrass, is a tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and Prairie regions of central North America- Description :...
.
Reproduction
MatingMating
In biology, mating is the pairing of opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for copulation. In social animals, it also includes the raising of their offspring. Copulation is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization...
can start as early as late April but peaks in mid-May. Males will sing from the cover of dense grasses, perched on tall grass or in flight. Clutches range from 2-6 eggs with 4 being the most common. Incubation
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
is done solely by the female, though both parents aid in feeding. Incubation lasts an average of 11-13 days. Hatchling
Hatchling
In oviparous biology, a hatchling is the newborn of animals that develop and emerge from within hard-shell eggs. The offspring of birds are often hatched naked and with their eyes closed. The hatchling relies totally on its parents for feeding and warmth. Hatchlings precede nestlings in the chick's...
s are altricial
Altricial
Altricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born...
with dull brown downy
Down feather
The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator and padding, used in goods such as jackets, bedding,...
patches. Pairs will have one or two broods per year. Due to the secretive nature of this bird little is known about the period of time between hatching and fledging
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
.
Nest
NestsNest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
are built by the female and are cup shaped, made from fine grasses and lined with soft grass and hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
. They are usually attached to standing grasses or sedges
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
and are built on or close to the ground.
Eggs
EggsEgg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
are 18 X 14 mm long and are sub elliptical
Ellipse
In geometry, an ellipse is a plane curve that results from the intersection of a cone by a plane in a way that produces a closed curve. Circles are special cases of ellipses, obtained when the cutting plane is orthogonal to the cone's axis...
in shape. Eggs are white with undertones of green, grey or blue; covered in fine brown dots, speckles or splotches usually clustered near large end of egg.
Interesting Facts
- Their nests are often parasitizedParasitismParasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
by Brown-headed CowbirdsBrown-headed CowbirdThe Brown-headed Cowbird is a small brood parasitic icterid of temperate to subtropical North America. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat around March or...
. - It is also known as Le Conte’s Bunting.
- They were once known as “stink birds”, because they were often chosen over QuailQuailQuail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
by hunting dogs. - Are much more commonly heard than seen. One survey of Le Conte’s identified 86 males by sound, but only 8 of those males by sight.
- Very few Le Conte’s have ever been bandedBird ringingBird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
. Between 1967 and 1984, only 355 were actually banded, and none were ever re-captured.
External links
- Le Conte's Sparrow Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Le Conte's Sparrow Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Le Conte's Sparrow - Ammodramus leconteii - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/lespar/index.htm - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Book
- Lowther, P. E.. (2005). Le Conte’s Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii). The Birds of North America Online. (A. Poole, Ed.) Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North American Online database.
Thesis
- Doster RH. Ph.D. (2005). Ecology and conservation of wintering migratory birds in early-successional habitats of the lower Mississippi River alluvial valley. University of Arkansas, United States, Arkansas.
- Reynolds MC. M.S. (1997). Effects of burning on birds in mesquite-grassland. The University of Arizona, United States, Arizona.
Articles
- Anderson KS. (1975). 1st Massachusetts Specimen of Le-Contes Sparrow. Auk. vol 92, no 1.
- Dale BC, Martin PA & Taylor PS. (1997). Effects of hay management on grassland songbirds in Saskatchewan. Wildlife Society Bulletin. vol 25, no 3. pp. 616–626.
- Dove CJ, Schmidt B, Gebhard C & Leboeuf E. (2001). Late record of Le Conte's Sparrow in Florida. Florida Field Naturalist. vol 29, no 3.
- Hanowski JM, Christian DP & Nelson MC. (1999). Response of breeding birds to shearing and burning in wetland brush ecosystems. Wetlands. vol 19, no 3. pp. 584–593.
- Harris B. (1973). Deuel County Notes Specimen Records for Barred Owl and Le-Contes Sparrow. South Dakota Bird Notes. vol 26, no 2.
- Igl LD & Johnson DH. (1995). Dramatic increase of Le Conte's sparrow in conversion reserve program fields in the Northern Great Plains. Prairie Naturalist. vol 27, no 2. pp. 89–94.
- Johnson DH & Igl LD. (2001). Area requirements of grassland birds: A regional perspective. Auk. vol 118, no 1. pp. 24–34.
- Maxwell TC, Madden DE & Dawkins RC. (1988). Status of Le Conte's Sparrow Ammodramus-Leconteii Emberizidae Wintering in Western Texas USA. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 33, no 3. pp. 373–375.
- Reynolds MC & Krausman PR. (1998). Effects of winter burning on birds in mesquite grassland. Wildlife Society Bulletin. vol 26, no 4. pp. 867–876.
- Richter CH. (1969). The Le Contes Sparrow in Northeastern Wisconsin. Passenger Pigeon. vol 31, no 3. pp. 275–277.
- Robbins S. (1969). New Light on the Le Contes Sparrow. Passenger Pigeon. vol 31, no 3. pp. 267–274.
- Roberts JP & Schnell GD. (2006). Comparison of survey methods for wintering grassland birds. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 77, no 1. pp. 46–60.
- Villard MA & Bracken RA. (1989). 1ST CONFIRMED BREEDING RECORD OF LECONTES SPARROW, AMMODRAMUS-LECONTEII, IN EASTERN ONTARIO. Canadian Field-Naturalist. vol 103, no 1. pp. 89–90.
- Villard MA & Bracken RA. (1989). First Confirmed Breeding Record of Le Conte's Sparrow Ammodramus-Leconteii in Eastern Ontario Canada. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 103, no 1. pp. 89–90.
- Winter M, Shaffer JA, Johnson DH, Donovan TM, Svedarsky WD, Jones PW & Euliss BR. (2005). Habitat and nesting of Le Conte's Sparrows in the northern tallgrass prairie. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 76, no 1. pp. 61–71.