Photo: Joseph Smit / Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow
Melozone cabanisi
Cabanis's Ground Sparrow (Melozone cabanisi) — Songbirds & Perching Birds of Central America & Caribbean.
Found across 2 guides in our atlas — open any for the full checklist, photos and what's around right now.
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow (Melozone cabanisi) is a member of the Passerellidae family found in Central America & Caribbean. Adults weigh 28 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List (opens in a new tab)Close to qualifying for a threatened category in the near future.
Where it fits
- Class Aves
- Order Passeriformes
- Family Passerellidae New World Sparrows
- Genus Melozone
- Species cabanisi
Quick facts
- Weight
- 28 g
- Diet
- Omnivores
- Family
- Passerellidae
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Habitat
- Woodland
How to identify
Similar birds
Least Concern
Near Threatened
Least Concern
Least Concern
Biology & behaviour
Diet
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow is a omnivore — it takes a broad, omnivorous diet of both plant and animal foods.
Behaviour
A bird of semi-open scrub and shrubland, it uses a wide range of foraging strategies.
Migration
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow (Melozone cabanisi) belongs to the Passerellidae family of the order Passeriformes. Its range spans Central America & Caribbean. Its distribution covers MA c Costa Rica.
It is a small bird. Adults weighs around 28 g, with a wing length of about 6.7 cm and a tail of around 5.9 cm.
The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened. That means it is close to qualifying as threatened and is worth keeping a careful eye on.
The species has a mapped global range of roughly 3,057 km² — a relatively restricted global range.
Songs & calls
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow?
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow is a small bird that weighs around 28 g.
Where does the Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow live?
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow is found across Central America & Caribbean with a range covering MA c Costa Rica, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.
What family does the Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow belong to?
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow (Melozone cabanisi) belongs to the Passerellidae family, in the order Passeriformes.
What does the Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow eat?
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow is a omnivore — it takes a broad, omnivorous diet of both plant and animal foods.
Does the Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow migrate?
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
Is the Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow endangered?
The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened That means it is close to qualifying as threatened and is worth keeping a careful eye on.
What sound does the Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow make?
1 real field recording of the Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow — including its song — can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.
How large is the Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow's range?
The Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow has a mapped global range of about 3,057 km².
Conservation
Every bird benefits from bird-safe windows, native plants, and keeping cats indoors. Small changes at home add up to real protection.
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