The Story
I made this photo of a Grassland Sparrow (Ammodramus humeralis) at Hato Barley in Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia. It lives in tall savanna grassland, pastures and cerrado, from the lowlands up to about 1,100 meters. It feeds on the ground and slips into the vegetation when disturbed, but it often sings from a raised perch. It eats grass and other seeds, plus small insects, especially in the breeding season. Its cup nest is built on the ground, with a runway through the plants leading to it. Tauramena lies in southwestern Casanare.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. IUCN lists the Grassland Sparrow as Least Concern, with a stable population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Grassland Sparrow (Ammodramus humeralis) belongs to the family Passerellidae (New World Sparrows) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2018), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List