the seaside sparrow (ammodramus maritimus) is a small american sparrow .
adults have brownish upperparts with gray on the crown and nape , and a grayish-buff colored breast with dark streaks; they have a dark face with gray cheeks , a white throat , and a short pointed tail .
birds show a small yellow streak just above the eye .
their breeding habitat is salt marshes on the atlantic and gulf coasts of the united states from southern new hampshire to southern texas .
the nest is an open cup usually built in the salt marsh on tidal reeds and spartina grasses .
females lay two to five eggs .
northern birds most often migrate further south along the eastern coast of the united states .
they forage on the ground or in marsh vegetation , sometimes probing in mud .
they mainly eat insects , marine invertebrates and seeds .
their feeding areas are often some distance away from the areas they choose to nest .
one of the numerous subspecies of this bird , the dusky seaside sparrow (a .
m .
nigrescens), has recently become extinct , and the cape sable subspecies , a .
m .
mirabilis , is endangered .
occurring in a restricted range but of uncertain validity is scott's seaside sparrow , (a .
m .
peninsulae) .
those were formerly considered a separate species .
the call closely resembles a raspy buzz , similar to a distant red-winged blackbird .
