Ammodramus | Dead as the Dodo – Holocene Extinctions

Barbudan Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum ssp.)

The Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum (J. F. Gmelin)) is distributed over most of northern America as well as parts of the Caribbean, the species was in fact first described from Jamaica.

The species is known from Barbuda, Antigua and Barbuda, in the Lesser Antilles based on a single complete humerus. [1]

The Caribbean populations of the Grasshopper Sparrow are treated as distinct island-endemic subspecies, thus the remains found on Barbuda most likely represent another, now extinct population that once was restricted to Antigua and Barbuda.

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References:

[1] Gregory K. Pregill; David W. Steadman; David R. Watters: Late Quaternary vertebrate faunas of the Lesser Antilles: historical components of Caribbean biogeography. Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History 30: 1-51. 1994

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edited: 17.02.2020

Dusky Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus ssp. nigrescens)

The Dusky Seaside Sparrow was a dark-colored subspecies of the Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus (Wilson)) that inhabited an area that stretches from New England to Florida.

The form disappeared from most of its former area due to habitat destruction and the use of DDT; the last remaining populations survived on Merritt Island and in the St. Johns National Wildlife Refuge in Brevard County, Florida.

There were some efforts to save the form, however, they all failed. The photo below shows the last known surviving individual named “Orange Band”; it died on June 18, 1987 in captivity.

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edited: 02.05.2021

Dead as the Dodo – Holocene Extinctions

… about 5858 taxa have disappeared since the beginning of the Anthropocene era (since about 10000 BCE)

Tag Archives: Ammodramus

Ammodramus savannarum ssp. ‘Barbuda’

Ammodramus maritimus ssp. nigrescens