Bachman’s Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis)
Birds of North Carolina: Bachman’s Sparrow (Carolina Bird Club)
The Bachman’s Sparrow is a rare and strongly declining species. It nests only in the southeastern portion of the United States, and its range has shrunk considerably over the past 50-75 years. It nested in the eastern Piedmont of North Carolina into the mid-1990’s, but it apparently now is essentially limited to the longleaf pine areas in the state, both coastally and in the Sandhills.
All About Birds: Bachman’s Sparrow (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
The grassy pine woodlands in the southeastern United States are home to a secretive and little-known sparrow that occurs nowhere else in the world. They often occur in areas that also support Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. Look for pine forests with a grassy understory, well-spaced trees, and little to no shrubs.
Bachman’s Sparrow Song and Calls (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Bachman’s Sparrow (Wikipedia)
Bachman’s sparrows occur primarily in the southeastern United States from the central region of peninsular Florida north to southeastern North Carolina and west through portions of Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri to eastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas. It inhabits areas with a dense layer of ground vegetation and open mid-stories with scattered shrubs and saplings, including young clearcuts and open pine (Pinus spp.) forests.
Audubon Guide to North American Birds: Bachman’s Sparrow
Plain in appearance but with a beautiful whistled song, Bachman’s Sparrow is an uncommon and elusive resident of the Southeast. Its classic habitat is mature pine forest, where it lives in the open grassy understory, flying up to low pine branches only to sing. As such forests have become scarce, it has also nested in brushy open fields. When not singing, this sparrow is extremely secretive, hiding in the undergrowth, and it is easily overlooked.
Fire Management Species Profile: Bachman’s Sparrow (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Bachman’s sparrow is endemic to the SOutheastern US and is primarily a non-migratory bird resident associated with pine woodlands and other open habitats. Habitat loss is condiered one of the most significant threats to this species.