Sprague's Pipit

Sprague's Pipit in short grass habitat.  Click once or twice to see larger image. 

When I was a kid, I used to like to walk around my uncle's farm in Kaplan.  In the winter there were muddy plowed fields, flooded fields with levees, and pastures with straw-colored grass chewed down about as short as my ankles by cattle.  The short grass pastures were my favorite.  That was partly because they were dry and easy to walk across, but mostly it was because there was a bird hiding in the grass that I could barely even find, much less identify.  

In the muddy fields, I could kick up Savannah Sparrow after Savannah Sparrow, and big flocks of Water Pipits.  On the flooded fields, there were usually dowitchers and yellowlegs.  But as I'd walk across the pastures, every now and then I'd luck across a little blonde bird that would launch itself high into the sky with a short call and fly around in circles  for minutes at a time.  Then, it would plummet back to earth and disappear into the grass again.  I might walk across tens of acres and only kick up a few of these birds.  I became an expert on how they acted, but I wasn't even really sure what I was looking at.  

I was finally pretty sure I was seeing Sprague's Pipits, and later, when I got binoculars, I was able to confirm it.  It's been one of my favorite birds ever since.  Like meadowlarks and Grasshopper Sparrow, Sprague's Pipit is a beautiful mix of brown grass colors that allow it to disappear when it holds still.  

Sprague's Pipits nest in the northern prairies and winter on short grass prairies and pastures in the south central part of the United States, and on into Mexico--basically, buffalo country.  Louisiana is on the edge of their main winter range, which means it's hit-or-miss finding one here.  The short grass on roadsides and cropduster landing strips can be good places to look for them.  Because they're so good at hiding, not a lot is known about this species.  One thing that everyone seems to agree on is that they seem to be decreasing in numbers.  Although 99.99% of the world has no idea that this bird even exists, it would be a sad thing if this bird were to disappear forever.