Ammodramus

Taxobox
name = "Ammodramus"


image_caption = Grasshopper Sparrow
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Emberizidae
genus = "Ammodramus"
genus_authority = Swainson, 1827
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.
synonyms ="Passerherbulus" Taxobox_authority | author = Maynard | date = 1895 "Palaeostruthus"

The genus "Ammodramus" is a group of American sparrows in the family "Emberizidae".

These birds are relatively small, with large bills, flat heads and short tails. They are usually found in grasslands or marshes and are often fairly inconspicuous. Most of their songs are insect-like.

Many of these bird species have declined in numbers due to habitat loss.

The full list of species is:
* Seaside Sparrow, "Ammodramus maritimus"
** Dusky Seaside Sparrow, "Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens" (extinct, 1987)
** Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow, "Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis"
* Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, "Ammodramus nelsoni"
* Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, "Ammodramus caudacutus"
* Le Conte's Sparrow, "Ammodramus leconteii"
* Henslow's Sparrow, "Ammodramus henslowii"
* Baird's Sparrow, "Ammodramus bairdii"
* Grasshopper Sparrow, "Ammodramus savannarum"
* Grassland Sparrow, "Ammodramus humeralis"
* Yellow-browed Sparrow, "Ammodramus aurifrons"

The fossil "Ammodramus hatcheri" (Late Miocene of Kansas, USA) was formerly placed in genus "Palaeospiza" or "Palaeostruthus". The former may not be a passeriform at all, while the latter was eventually synonymized with "Ammodramus" as "A. hatcheri" scarcely differs from the living species.