Species names in all available languages
| Language | Common name |
|---|---|
| Dutch | Kweldergors |
| English (United States) | Seaside Sparrow |
| French | Bruant maritime |
| German | Strandammer |
| Icelandic | Flæðatittlingur |
| Japanese | ハマヒメドリ |
| Norwegian | marskspurv |
| Polish | bagiennik żółtoczelny |
| Russian | Приморская овсянка-барсучок |
| Serbian | Morski strnad |
| Slovak | strnádlik prímorský |
| Spanish | Chingolo Costero |
| Spanish (Mexico) | Gorrión Costero |
| Spanish (Spain) | Chingolo costero |
| Swedish | kustsparv |
| Turkish | Sahil Serçesi |
Revision Notes
Jon Greenlaw and Greg Shriver revised the account. Claire Walter managed the references. Guy Kirwan contributed some of the Systematics content. Arnau Bonan Barfull curated the media.
Ammospiza maritima (Wilson, A, 1811)
PROTONYM:
Fringilla maritima
Wilson, A, 1811. American Ornithology 4, p.68 pl.34 fig.2.
TYPE LOCALITY:
sea islands along our Atlantic coast ; restricted to Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey, by Oberholser, 1931, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 44, p. 124.
Definitions
- AMMOSPIZA
- maritima / maritimus
The Key to Scientific Names
Legend Overview
UPPERCASE: current genus
Uppercase first letter: generic synonym
● and ● See: generic homonyms
lowercase: species and subspecies
●: early names, variants, misspellings
‡: extinct
†: type species
Gr.: ancient Greek
L.: Latin
<: derived from
syn: synonym of
/: separates historical and modern geographic names
ex: based on
TL: type locality
OD: original diagnosis (genus) or original description (species)
SPECIES
Seaside Sparrow Ammospiza maritima Scientific name definitions
Jon S. Greenlaw, W. Gregory Shriver, and William Post
Version: 2.0 — Published July 1, 2022
Version: 2.0 — Published July 1, 2022
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Tables and Appendices
Table 1
Linear measurements (mm) with mean (SD, n, range) of Seaside Sparrows from 7 populations.
| A. m. maritima (New York, Connecticut) | A. m. macgillivraii (South Carolina) | A. m. nigrescens (Florida) | A. m. peninsulae (Florida) | A. m. fisheri (Texas) | A. m. sennetti (Texas) | |
| Wing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 63.7 (2.0, 30, 60.0–67.0) | 62.2 (1.4, 7, 60.0–64.5) | 58.2 (0.9, 12, 57.0–60.0) | 61.1 (3.0, 15, 57.0–64.5) | 61.1 (0.9, 10, 60.0–62.5) | 59.0 (1.7, 10, 57.0–61.0) |
| Female | 59.4 (1.5, 24, 57.0–61.5) | 58.7 (1.3, 12, 57.0–61.0) | 55.9 (0.9, 11, 55.0–57.5) | 57.9 (1.6, 8, 56.5–60.0) | 59.2 (1.7, 10, 57.0–62.0) | 58.4 (1.7, 10, 55.5–60.5) |
| Tail | ||||||
| Male | 52.2 (2.6, 18, 49.0–57.0) | 54.5 (2.9, 11, 50.0–58.5) | 49.0 (1.3, 10, 47.0–51.0) | 53.8 (1.6, 8, 51.0–55.0) | 53.0 (3) | 49.6 (2.4, 5) |
| Female | 50.2 (1.3, 10, 49.0–56.0) | 51.8 (2.5, 20, 46.8–57.8) | 47.4 (1.7, 9, 45.0–51.0) | 52.0 (2.3, 8, 49.0–53.0) | ||
| Tarsus | ||||||
| Male | 22.1 (0.5, 20, 20.5–22.5) | 22.7 (0.9, 12, 21.2–24.3) | 21.0 (0.8, 10, 20.0–20.5) | 21.5 (0.6, 8, 21.0–22.5) | 21.5 (3) | 20.2 (0.2, 10) |
| Female | 22.8 (0.6, 14, 21.0–23.0) | 21.8 (0.9, 20, 19.7–23.4) | 20.5 (0.5, 7, 20.0–21.5) | 21.1 (0.4, 8, 20.5–21.5) | ||
| Bill Length | ||||||
| Male | 11.1 (0.4, 30, 10.1–11.9) | 11.2 (0.4, 12, 10.2–11.7) | 10.3 (0.3, 12, 9.9–10.8) | 10.8 (0.4, 15, 10.2–11.3) | 10.9 (0.4, 10, 10.7–11.7) | 10.5 (0.4, 10, 9.8–10.8) |
| Female | 10.9 (0.3, 24, 10.1–11.3) | 11.0 (0.5, 19, 10.2–11.9) | 10.1 (0.3, 11, 9.5–10.5) | 10.6 (0.5, 12, 9.8–11.3) | 10.8 (0.4, 10, 10.5–11.6) | 10.7 (0.6, 10, 10.1–11.8) |
| Bill Width | ||||||
| Male | 4.9 (0.2, 19, 4.5–5.2) | 4.5 (0.2, 12, 4.2–4.9) | 4.7 (0.2, 12, 4.3–5.1) | 4.7 (0.3, 15, 4.3–5.0) | 4.8 (0.2, 10, 4.6–5.0) | 4.7 (0.2, 10, 4.4–5.0) |
| Female | 4.7 (0.2, 14, 4.4–5.0) | 4.5 (0.2, 20, 4.1–5.0) | 4.6 (0.2, 11, 4.2–4.8) | 4.8 (0.3, 12, 4.3–5.3) | 4.7 (0.2, 10, 4.6–4.9) | 4.7 (0.2, 10, 4.5–5.0) |
| Bill Depth | ||||||
| Male | 6.3 (0.2, 19, 6.1–6.8) | 6.1 (0.3, 12, 5.7–6.6) | 6.1 (0.2, 10, 5.8–6.4) | 6.0 (0.3, 15, 5.6–6.4) | 6.3 (0.2, 10, 6.0–6.5) | 5.7 (0.1, 10, 5.6–5.8) |
| Female | 6.2 (0.2, 14, 5.9–6.5) | 6.0 (0.3, 20, 5.5–6.7) | 5.9 (0.3, 10, 5.5–6.4) | 5.9 (0.3, 12 5.5–6.4) | 6.1 (0.2, 10, 5.9–6.3) | 5.8 (0.2, 10, 5.5–6.0) |
| Toe | ||||||
| Male | 25.0 (0.8, 20, 23.5–26.5) | 22.0 (1.0, 10, 21.3–23.0) | 23.9 (1.5, 8, 22.0–26.0) | 21.5 (3) | 22.2 (1.0, 6) | |
| Female | 24.7 (1.2, 14, 22.8–26.5) | 21.1 (0.7, 7, 21.5–22.8) | 22.3 (1.4, 8, 21.3–23.9) | |||
Table 2
Basic nomenclatural history of Seaside Sparrow in relation to the genus Ammodramus and associated genera.
| Reference | Genus1 | Type Species2 | Remarks |
| Wilson 1811 | Fringilla Linnaeus, 1758 | “Fringilla” ( = Fringilla coelebs L., 1758) | Wilson described this new species in volume 4 of American Ornithology and comments on habits, diet, and habitat. |
| Swainson 1827 | Ammodramus Swainson, 1827 | Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788 | This genus was the taxonomic “home” for the Seaside Sparrow for much of its early and late nomenlatural history. Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin was mistakenly assigned by Swainson as the original type species of the genus. Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin is the earliest name of the “Sharp-tailed Sparrow” Ammodramus caudacuta (Gmelin); see Coturniculus and Ammospiza below. |
| AOU 1886 | Ammodramus Swainson, 1827 | Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788 | The Seaside Sparrow is placed together with “Sharp-tailed Sparrow” as relatives in a broad conception of Ammodramus, subdivided into 4 subgenera including Ammodramus and Coturniculus in this first edition of the Check-list (1886). The error concerning the type species for Ammodramus remains uncorrected in this and in the second edition. |
| AOU 1895 | Ammodramus Swainson, 1827 | Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788 | The treatment of Ammodramus in the second edition (1895) remains unchanged. |
| Ridgway 1901 | Ammodramus Swainson, 1827 | Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788 | Ridgway restricts Ammodramus to include only A. maritimus, A. caudacutus, and A. leconteii, and A. henslowii, while Coturniculus Bonaparte applies only to Grasshopper Sparrows. However, Ridgway comments that Coturniculus may belong to Ammodramus. |
| Oberholser 1905 | Coturniculus Bonaparte, 1838 | Fringilla passerina Wilson, 1811 | Oberholser emends the error in type species designation for Ammodramus. He points out that an earlier name for Coturniculus Bonaparte was found in Ammodramus Swainson, the real type of which is Ammodramus bimaculatus Swainson and was first use of the original description of A. bimaculatus, the western continental form of A. savannarum (Gmelin, 1788). Also see Ammospiza next. Thus, the genus Ammodramus Gmelin is now formally linked with Grasshopper Sparrow and not Saltmarsh Sparrow. |
| Oberholser 1905 | Ammospiza Oberholser, 1905 | Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788 | Because the generic name belongs to Coturniculus Swainson and the latter is a synonym of Ammodramus, as shown above, another name is needed for the group to which Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin previously applied (see AOU Check-list, second edition above). Thus, Oberholser introduced the genus Ammospiza, which carries Gmelin”s name as its type species and also is associated with “Sharp-tailed Sparrow” Ammospiza caudacuta. |
| AOU 1910 | Passerherbulus “Maynard”, Stone 1907 | Ammodramus lecontei Sharpe, 1888 ( = Fringilla caudacuta Latham, 1790, not Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788) | This Check-list edition (1910) affirmed application of Oberholser”s correction of Gmelin”s type species Oriolus caudacutus to “Sharp-tailed Sparrow” (= Passerherbulus caudacutus in this Check-list). However, based on an assessment in Stone (1907),the AOU Check-list followed the conclusion that Ammodramus Swainson, 1827, is a synonym of Passerherbulus Maynard, and because it is a prior name to Oberholser”s Ammospiza, 1905, Passerherbulus was adopted in the Check-list. |
| American Ornithologists' Union 1931 | Ammospiza Oberholser, 1905 | Fringilla caudacuta Wilson, 1811 ( = Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788) | The fourth edition of the Check-list (1931) made another change resulting in a split of the Seaside Sparrow and its two closest “marshland” relatives into Ammospiza Oberholser leaving only Grasshopper Sparrow in the genus Ammodramus Gmelin. |
| Hellmayr 1938 | Ammospiza Oberholser, 1905 | Fringilla caudacuta Wilson, 1811 ( = Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788) | Hellmayr follows AOU Check-list, fourth edition nomenclature leaving the two species of “marshland sparrows” in Ammospiza. Thryospiza Oberholser (1917) becomes a synonym of Ammospiza in Hellmayr (1938) and remains there. |
| American Ornithologists' Union 1957 | Ammospiza Oberholser, 1905 | Fringilla caudacuta Wilson, 1811 ( = Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788) | This is the last AOU Check-list (1957) edition to treat subspecies. This Check-list retains the Seaside Sparrow and its marshland relative in Ammospiza and maintains Hellmayr”s breakdown of genera covering the drier “grassland” species (e.g., Ammodramus, Passerherbulus). |
| Murray 1968b | Ammospiza Oberholser, 1905 | [as in AOU Check-list, 5th edition] | Murray here makes the case that LeConte”s Sparrow not only belongs in Ammospiza Gmelin with the other “marshland” sparrows, but also it is closest relative to “Sharp-tailed Sparrow” A. caudacuta, thus implying Seaside Sparrow is basal (oldest) in the group. |
| Paynter and Storer 1970 | Ammodramus Swainson, 1827 | Ammodramus bimaculatus Swainson, 1827 ( = Fringilla savannarum Gmelin, 1789) | Once again, Seaside Sparrow (most all grassland and marshland sparrows) is placed in the genus Ammodramus in a much broadened concept of the taxon. This decision is based on similarity in form and graminoid habitat and its implied monophyletic ancestry, which was doubted, cannot be tested until phylogenetic methods are developed. The enlarged genus covers species rank taxa from Junco to Spizella (see synonyms in Paynter and Storer 1970). |
| American Ornithologists' Union 1983 | Ammodramus Swainson, 1827 | Ammodramus bimaculatus Swainson, 1827 ( = Fringilla savannarum Gmelin, 1789) | This AOU Check-list (1983) mostly follows Paynter and Storer (1970) on the Seaside Sparrow and most of its relatives with the exception of Passerculus Bonaparte, which covers Savannah Sparrows. |
| Sibley and Monroe 1990 | Ammodramus Swainson, 1827 | [not identified] | This checklist has a world view perspective on avian species, but is based broadly on the DNA hybridization work of Sibley and Ahlquist 1990, which in turn had little species-level resolution including on the Seaside Sparrow and its close relatives. The nomenclature on the Seaside Sparrow and its closest relatives follows the AOU Check-list sixth edition. |
| American Ornithologists' Union 1998 | Ammodramus Swainson, 1827 | Ammodramus bimaculatus Swainson, 1827 ( = Fringilla savannarum Gmelin, 1789) | The nomenclature of interest here in the seventh edition of the AOU Check-list (1998) follows that of the sixth edition Check-list. |
| Chesser et al. 2018 | Ammospiza Oberholser, 1905 | Fringilla caudacuta Wilson, 1811 ( = Oriolus caudacutus Gmelin, 1788) | Finally, American Ornithological Society (A.O.S. replacing AOU) restores the “marshland” sparrows to Ammospiza Oberholser. This group of sparrows, now composed of four species (A. leconteii, A. maritima, A. nelsoni, and A. caudacuta) has maritima sister to both nelsoni and caudacuta, with leconteii sister to the other three. Ammospiza is confirmed as a monophyletic taxon (e.g., Klicka and Spellman 2007, Barker et al. 2015). |
- 1Publication year that genus taxon was introduced and described by author.
- 2Type species of the genus, which functions as the name carrier for the taxon, either designated by original author or subsequently by a first reviser.
Table 3
Nest survival estimates for Seaside Sparrow.
Daily estimate is based on a Mayfield types estimator and period estimate is the daily estimate exponentiated to the number of days in the Period. Period is for the entire nesting cycle (laying, incubation, and nestling stages) unless otherwise indicated ("inc." = incubation. "nest." = nestling). No data are available for A. m. sennetti.
| Location | Year | Nests (n) | Period (days) | Daily Estimate | Period Estimate | Range | Reference |
| A. m. maritima | |||||||
| Allens Pond, Massachusetts | 1985 | 30 | 22 | 0.934 | 0.221 | Marshall and Reinert 1990 | |
| 1986 | 25 | 22 | 0.962 | 0.426 | |||
| Connecticut | 2002–2003 | 22 | 26 | 0.95 | 0.27 | 0.08–0.52 | Gjerdrum et al. 2005 |
| Oak Beach, New York | 1977–1980 | 343 | 26 | 0.97 | 0.453 | 0.962–0.977 | JSG |
| Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, New Jersey | 2011–2015 | 511 | 25 | 0.953 | 0.303 | 0.054 SE | Roberts et al. 2017 |
| Woodland Beach, Delaware | 2006–2008 | 64 | 25 | 0.93 | 0.152 | Warner 2009 | |
| Bombay Hook NWR, Delaware | 2006–2008 | 100 | 25 | 0.957 | 0.319 | ||
| Prime Hook NWR, Delaware | 2007–2008 | 125 | 25 | 0.947 | 0.256 | Pepper and Shriver 2010 | |
| Blackwater NWR, Maryland | 2007 | 62 | 26 | 0.971 | 0.469 | 0.96–0.98 | Kern 2010 |
| 2008 | 137 | 26 | 0.938 | 0.19 | 0.92–0.95 | ||
| 2009 | 124 | 26 | 0.881 | 0.037 | 0.85–0.90 | ||
| A. m. macgillivraii | |||||||
| Brunswick, Georgia | 2013 | 78 | 25 | 0.85 | 0.017 | 0.80–0.89 | Hunter et al. 2016 |
| 2014 | 87 | 25 | 0.93 | 0.163 | 0.90–0.95 | ||
| 2015 | 158 | 25 | 0.84 | 0.013 | 0.81–0.87 | ||
| Nassau River and Clapboard Creek (Duval and Nassau Counties) northeast Florida | 2015–2017 | 116 | 25 | 0.869 | 0.03 | 0.00–0.10 | Cox et al. 2020 |
| A. m. mirabilis | |||||||
| East of Shark River Slough | 1995–1996 | 24 | 12 inc. | 0.96 | 0.61 | Lockwood et al. 1997 | |
| 9 nest. | 0.969 | 0.75 | |||||
| Population A | 1996–1999 | 10 | 25 | 0.919 | 0.12 | Lockwood et al. 2001 | |
| Population B | 212 | 25 | 0.948 | 0.26 | |||
| Population E | 30 | 25 | 0.975 | 0.53 | |||
| Population B - Ingraham | 1996–2006 | 110 | 25 | 0.915 | 0.11 | 0.06–0.18 | Baiser et al. 2008 |
| Population B - Main Park | 103 | 25 | 0.939 | 0.21 | 0.13–0.31 | ||
| Population E - East Camp | 216 | 25 | 0.939 | 0.21 | 0.15–0.28 | ||
| Population E (Burned) | Pre-Fire | 7 | 25 | 0.965 | 0.414 | La Puma et al. 2007 | |
| 2002 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2003 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2004 | 14 | 25 | 0.965 | 0.407 | |||
| 2005 | 25 | 25 | 0.948 | 0.265 | |||
| Population E (Unburned) | Pre-Fire | 14 | 25 | 0.96 | 0.364 | La Puma et al. 2007 | |
| 2002 | 25 | 25 | 0.924 | 0.137 | |||
| 2003 | 29 | 25 | 0.956 | 0.325 | |||
| 2004 | 26 | 25 | 0.954 | 0.313 | |||
| 2005 | 41 | 25 | 0.97 | 0.461 | |||
| A. m. peninsulae | |||||||
| Gulf Hammock, Florida | 1979 | 34 | 12 inc. | 0.747 | 0.03 | WP | |
| 1980 | 43 | 12 inc. | 0.838 | 0.12 | |||
| A. m. fisheri | |||||||
| Jackson County, Mississippi | 2011–2012 | 299 | 24 | 0.922 | 0.142 | 0.909–0.933 | Lehmicke 2014 |