---
title: "Clay-colored Sparrow"
description: "Spizella pallida — Birds. The clay-colored sparrow or clay-coloured sparrow (Spizella pallida) is a small New World sparrow of North America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/clay-colored-sparrow
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Clay-colored Sparrow

> Spizella pallida — Birds. The clay-colored sparrow or clay-coloured sparrow (Spizella pallida) is a small New World sparrow of North America.

- Scientific name: *Spizella pallida*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows)
- iNaturalist observations: 16795
- Wikidata: [Q551729](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q551729)
- iNaturalist taxon: [9148](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/9148)

## Names

- en: Clay-colored Sparrow
- de: Fahlammer
- es: Gorrión pálido
- fr: Bruant des plaines
- nl: Bleke gors
- pl: Spizela blada

## Countries with the most observations

US (7239), CA (4895), MX (3302), CU (5), CW (3), HN (3)

## Summary

The clay-colored sparrow or clay-coloured sparrow (Spizella pallida) is a small New World sparrow of North America.
Adults have light brown upperparts and pale underparts, with darker streaks on the back. They have a pale crown stripe on a dark brown crown, a white line over the eyes, a dark line through the eyes, a light brown cheek patch and brown wings with wing bars. The short bill is pale with a dark tip and the back of the neck is grey; they have a long tail. Non-breeding adults and immature resemble chipping sparrows and Brewer's sparrows; they often form flocks with these birds outside the nesting season.…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay-colored_sparrow

## Photo

![Clay-colored Sparrow](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/clay-colored-sparrow/medium.jpg)

Photo: Textile Ranger · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101239905

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/clay-colored-sparrow?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).