The Henslow’s Sparrow has the simplest and shortest song of any North American songbird, a thin tze-lick.  It has a preference for thick, weedy grasslands and wetlands.  Its subtle, streaky plumage is a mix of tan and buff, with a greenish-washed face the color of a summer hayfield, and sharp black stripes that look drawn on by a freshly sharpened pencil.  They spend most of their time on the ground, so they can be a tough bird to find.  They are a small bird only 4.3-5.1 inches in length with a wingspan of 6.3-7.9 inches.

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Henslow’s Sparrow was named by John James Audubon for his friend, John Stevens Henslow, a botanist, a minister and a teacher of Charles Darwin.  They take flight only with great reluctance, preferring to flee from threats by running through the grass.

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They breed in Atlantic coastal marshes with 3-4 eggs and 2-3 broods a year.  The incubation period is 10-12 days.  At hatching, the nestlings have eyes closed and are covered with brownish-gray down.  Nesting pairs keep relatively close to one another but still maintaining unoverlapping territories separated by an undefended buffer.

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Henslow’s Sparrows are extremely secretive in all seasons, spending most of their time on or near the ground foraging.  They eat insects in the summer, mostly grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars.  In winter, they forage on the ground for seeds including wiregrass, ragweed and some berries.

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Henslow’s Sparrows have been placed on a Yellow Watch list for species with declining populations.  Loss of breeding habitat is the biggest threat to the population.  The federal Conservation Reserve Program has been responsible for the reversal of some long-term declines of this species.  The oldest recorded Henslow’s Sparrow was more than 6 years old when it was recaptured in Louisiana in 2001.