{"id":264744,"date":"2026-03-20T06:13:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fauna\/lincolns-sparrow\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T16:02:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T21:02:01","slug":"lincolns-sparrow","status":"publish","type":"fauna","link":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/fauna\/lincolns-sparrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Lincoln&#8217;s Sparrow"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Melospiza lincolnii<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":264728,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":""},"collection":[],"country":[11],"fauna-group":[27503],"fauna-type":[27217],"star-rating":[],"class_list":["post-264744","fauna","type-fauna","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","country-colombia","fauna-group-sparrows","fauna-type-birds"],"acf":{"scientific_name":"Melospiza lincolnii","animal_description":"The Lincoln\u2019s Sparrow (*Melospiza lincolnii*) is a refined and secretive songbird of the north, celebrated for its delicate beauty and elusive nature. Often found skulking through dense, boggy thickets or high-altitude willow carrs, this small sparrow is distinguished by its crisp, fine black streaks set against a warm, buff-colored breast band\u2014a feature that provides a much tidier appearance than its more common relative, the Song Sparrow. Its face is elegantly patterned with cool gray cheeks and a rich brown crown divided by a pale gray stripe, giving it a neat, high-contrast look. Despite its shy, mouse-like behavior in the undergrowth, the Lincoln\u2019s Sparrow possesses one of the most remarkably sweet and complex songs of any North American sparrow, delivering a rich, bubbling trill that carries a surprisingly melodic depth for such a modest and retiring bird.","animal_habitat":"This secretive sparrow primarily breeds in high-altitude or northern boggy areas, wet meadows, and riparian willow thickets. It favors dense, low-growing vegetation near water sources, such as the shrubby edges of marshes and subalpine meadows. During migration and winter, it transitions to similar thickets, brushy fields, and overgrown forest edges, always seeking heavy cover to remain inconspicuous.\n\nIts breeding range extends across Alaska and Canada to the Atlantic coast, reaching southward into the mountain ranges of the western United States. As a migratory species, it travels across most of North America to reach its wintering grounds. These areas include the southern United States, throughout Mexico, and extending into northern Central America, where it occupies brushy habitats and tropical scrub.","animal_behavior_and_reproduction":"Known for their secretive and skulking nature, these birds typically inhabit dense, moist thickets and bogs where they remain well-hidden. During the breeding season, they transition from a relatively solitary existence to a territorial social structure, where males use a remarkably complex and melodious song to define their boundaries and attract a mate. Despite their shy demeanor, males will sing persistently from low perches, though they are quick to retreat into the underbrush if disturbed.\n\nThe mating system is predominantly monogamous, with females selecting well-protected sites on the ground or low in shrubs to build their cup-shaped nests. A typical clutch contains three to five eggs, which the female incubates while the male guards the territory. A key reproductive strategy is the rapid development of the chicks; both parents intensively forage for insects to feed the brood, allowing the young to fledge in as little as nine to twelve days. This accelerated growth is an essential adaptation for surviving in vulnerable ground-level environments.","diet":"The Lincoln's Sparrow maintains a seasonally shifting diet that primarily consists of insects and other invertebrates during the breeding months to meet high protein requirements for itself and its young. They favor a variety of prey including beetles, ants, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and spiders, which they typically glean from the ground or low vegetation. An interesting aspect of their foraging behavior is their extreme secretiveness; they often remain hidden under dense brush or within thickets while scratching through leaf litter to uncover food, a behavior often described as \"skulking.\" As winter approaches and insect availability decreases, these sparrows transition to a diet dominated by small seeds from grasses and weeds, occasionally supplementing their intake with small fruits or berries. Unlike some of its bolder relatives, the Lincoln's Sparrow rarely ventures far from protective cover even when searching for its next meal, making its feeding habits as elusive as its general nature.","colors":"The Lincoln's Sparrow is characterized by a grayish-brown back with dark streaks and a distinctive buffy wash across the breast and flanks, accented by fine, crisp black streaking. Its gray face features a thin white eye ring, a brown eyestripe, and a notable buffy malar stripe. These intricate, earthy patterns provide exceptional camouflage for skulking within dense, brushy riparian habitats.","fun_facts":"Lincoln\u2019s Sparrows are renowned for their \"mouse-like\" movements, preferring to scurry through dense, boggy thickets rather than fly when startled. Despite their secretive nature, they boast an exceptionally complex, wren-like song that is surprisingly sweet for such an elusive bird. Notably, they were named by John James Audubon after his 21-year-old travel companion, Thomas Lincoln, rather than the U.S. president. These birds are also masters of stealth; during migration, they are so quiet and difficult to spot that birders often refer to them as \"ghosts of the thicket.\" Additionally, they have a unique adaptation for cold climates, frequently nesting in high-altitude peat bogs where few other songbirds can thrive.","conservation_status_&_efforts":"The Lincoln's Sparrow is currently classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, with a global population that appears stable or slightly increasing. Despite this favorable status, the species faces ongoing threats from the loss and degradation of its specialized breeding habitats, particularly subalpine meadows, bogs, and riparian thickets. Human activities such as livestock overgrazing, peat harvesting, and water diversion can compromise these sensitive environments. Furthermore, climate change poses a long-term threat by potentially altering the moisture levels and vegetation structures of the boreal and montane ecosystems they rely on.\n\nConservation measures primarily revolve around habitat protection and broad-scale monitoring through initiatives like the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Because the species depends on dense cover near water, many efforts focus on the restoration of wetlands and the implementation of sustainable land-use practices in mountain regions. Legal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act also safeguard the birds from direct persecution. While no species-specific recovery plans are currently necessary, maintaining the integrity of large-scale migratory corridors and high-latitude nesting grounds remains the priority for ensuring their continued stability.","endemic":false,"migratory":true,"nocturnal":false,"conservation_status":"Least Concern","ebird_link":{"url":"https:\/\/ebird.org\/species\/linspa","title":"View on Ebird","target":"_blank"},"animal_related_page":{"url":"https:\/\/animalia.bio\/lincolns-sparrow","title":"View on Animalia","target":"_blank"},"fauna_family":"Passerellidae","fauna_known_nicknames":"Lincoln Finch","fauna_average_length":"12\u201315 cm \/ 4.7\u20135.9 in","fauna_average_weight":"12\u201321 g \/ 0.4\u20130.7 oz","fauna_wingspan":"19\u201322 cm \/ 7.5\u20138.7 in","fauna_key_physical_feature":"Fine black streaking across a distinct buff-colored breast band and flanks","fauna_primary_diet":"Omnivore (Primarily insects during breeding season; seeds and small fruits during winter)","fauna_geographical_range":"North America; breeds across Alaska, Canada, and the northern\/mountainous United States; winters in the southern US, Mexico, and Central America","fauna_preferred_habitat":"Subalpine bogs, wet meadows, and willow thickets for breeding; brushy fields and forest edges during winter","fauna_social_structure":"Solitary and secretive; may join small mixed-species flocks during migration and wintering","fauna_breeding_site":"Well-concealed cup nest built on the ground within dense vegetation or moss","fauna_conservation_status":"Least Concern (LC)","fauna_population_trend":"Stable","fauna_spanish_name":"Gorri\u00f3n de Lincoln","fauna_french_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna\/264744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fauna"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=264744"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=264744"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-group?post=264744"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-type?post=264744"},{"taxonomy":"star-rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/star-rating?post=264744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}