Cape Sable Sparrow Management Plan
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Notes

Abstract:
The sparrow was discovered by A. H. Howell in 1918 on the coastal prairie of Cape Sable, at the southwest tip of the Florida peninsula (Howell, 1919). He described his specimens as Thryospiza mirabilis, defined by plumage characteristics and size. Griscom (1944) and Beecher (1955) considered it to be an extremely light colored Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima). Stimson (1956, 1968) commented on similarities in the behavior of Cape Sable Sparrows and Dusky Seaside Sparrows (then A. nigrescens). In recent years, taxonomic reviews tended to merge both these forms with the polytypic A. maritima, a view formally adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union in 1-(Eisenmann et al., 1973). The limited distribution, and apparently catastrophic history, of this race of the Seaside Sparrow resulted in its being classified as endangered under the original Federal listing of endangered species in 1967. Most Cape Sable Sparrow habitat lies within areas managed by the National Park Service. It is not completely distinctive in plumage, and, as demonstrated in the next section, recent studies suggest that its behavior is similar to that of other races. It is unique among Seaside Sparrows, in its ecological setting because it is a bird of inland marshes and flooded prairies in a subtropical seasonally dry environment. ( English )

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Holding Location:
South Florida Natural Resource Center
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Resource Identifier:
I 29.95:M-660 ( sudoc )