Content tagged with "Birds"

The savannah sparrow is a bird of open habitat with nearby dense cover. It feeds in grass or crop stubble and quickly retreats to brush when threatened. This sparrow is a common migrant but is found locally in central and southern Missouri in winter.

This owl is commonly active during day, especially in early morning and late afternoon, as well as night. A prairie species, it hunts while flying low over grasslands, with a buoyant, mothlike flight. The short ear tufts are difficult to see.

Visits Missouri during some winters and not others. Peak numbers in Missouri occur about every four years in response to lemming population crashes in far north. Only a small portion (usually immature individuals) of the population are forced south.

The swamp sparrow is an uncommon winter resident in most of Missouri, but as the name indicates it may be more easily found in wet areas.