Bird
Vesper Sparrow
Pooecetes gramineus
Lives in North Carolina all year and nests here. Found in all 100 counties, across 4 habitats.
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 100 counties
- Habitats
- 4

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 100 counties
- Habitats
- 4
- Habitat models
- Summer, Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in North Carolina 4
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.
Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.
Other habitats in its models (19)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in North Carolina. Those recorded in North Carolina first, the rest by region.
Elsewhere in the South (2)
- East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
- Florida Dry Prairie Winter.
Midwest (1)
- North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Winter.
West (1)
- California Central Valley Mixed Oak Savanna Winter.
Land cover and other classes (15)
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Winter.
- Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter.
- Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Shrubland Winter.
- Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
Seasons in North Carolina
- Migratory: does not nest here, in 99 of 100 counties.
- Winter: does not nest here, in 16 of 100 counties.
- Summer: nests here, in 2 of 100 counties.
Food plants
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.
Native plants in these genera 273
- Appalachian Woodland SedgeCarex austrolucorum
- Gator SedgeCarex gator
- Great Smoky Mountain SedgeCarex fumosimontana
- Silvery SedgeCarex disjuncta
- Broadleaf SedgeCarex platyphylla
- James's SedgeCarex jamesii
- Longstalk SedgeCarex pedunculata
- Plantainleaf SedgeCarex plantaginea
- Rich-woods SedgeCarex oligocarpa
- Spreading SedgeCarex laxiculmis
- Allegheny SedgeCarex allegheniensis
- Appalachian SedgeCarex appalachica
- Awl-fruit SedgeCarex stipata
- Bailey's SedgeCarex baileyi
- Barratt's SedgeCarex barrattii
- Beaked SedgeCarex utriculata
- Bent SedgeCarex styloflexa
- Biltmore SedgeCarex biltmoreana
- Black-edge SedgeCarex nigromarginata
- Bladder SedgeCarex intumescens
- Blister SedgeCarex vesicaria
- Blue SedgeCarex glaucodea
- Blue Wood SedgeCarex flaccosperma
- Blunt Broom SedgeCarex tribuloides
Plant genera in its diet records (21)
- Nassella 10 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
- Camelina 6 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
- Carex 6 diet records. 148 native plants in North Carolina
- Amaranthus 4 diet records. 3 native plants in North Carolina
- Chenopodium 4 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
- Panicum Seeds. 4 diet records. 5 native plants in North Carolina
- Poa 4 diet records. 9 native plants in North Carolina
- Viola 4 diet records. 24 native plants in North Carolina
- Androsace 2 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
- Bouteloua 2 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
- Cyperus Seeds. 2 diet records. 35 native plants in North Carolina
- Danthonia Seeds. 2 diet records. 4 native plants in North Carolina
- Deschampsia Seeds. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
- Euphorbia 2 diet records. 15 native plants in North Carolina
- Hesperostipa 2 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
- Oxalis Seeds. 2 diet records. 8 native plants in North Carolina
- Plantago 2 diet records. 6 native plants in North Carolina
- Setaria Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in North Carolina
- Sorghastrum Seeds. 2 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
- Sporobolus 2 diet records. 8 native plants in North Carolina
- Thlaspi 2 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in North Carolina, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Birds 89
- Cape May WarblerDendroica tigrina
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Monk ParakeetMyiopsitta monachus
- Upland SandpiperBartramia longicauda
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- Yellow-throated VireoVireo flavifrons
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
Plants 1314
- Crooked-stem AsterSymphyotrichum prenanthoides
- Canada LettuceLactuca canadensis
- Common HorseweedErigeron canadensis
- Annual FleabaneErigeron annuus
- Oakleaf FleabaneErigeron quercifolius
- Dog-fennelEupatorium capillifolium
- Ivyleaf Morning-gloryIpomoea hederacea
- Carolina Crane's-billGeranium carolinianum
- Common Evening-primroseOenothera biennis
- Cutleaf Evening-primroseOenothera laciniata
- Northern Evening-primroseOenothera parviflora
- Downy Ground-cherryPhysalis pubescens
All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in North Carolina
Forest edges and thickets
Birds 40
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- Wilson's WarblerWilsonia pusilla
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- Barn SwallowHirundo rustica
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
Plants 231
- Bristly BlackberryRubus setosus
- Tall LarkspurDelphinium exaltatum
- Canada PlumPrunus nigra
- Fire CherryPrunus pensylvanica
- Giant SunflowerHelianthus giganteus
- Gray DogwoodSwida racemosa
- Roughleaf DogwoodSwida asperifolia
- Southern DewberryRubus trivialis
- Sawtooth BlackberryRubus argutus
- Buffalo CloverTrifolium reflexum
- Cutleaf GoldenrodSolidago arguta
- Hairy LettuceLactuca hirsuta
Mountain balds
Birds 23
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Canada WarblerWilsonia canadensis
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- American Tree SparrowSpizella arborea
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
Plants 76
- Mountain Highbush BlueberryVaccinium simulatum
- Mountain AndromedaPieris floribunda
- Smooth BlackberryRubus canadensis
- Southern Mountain CranberryVaccinium erythrocarpum
- Atlantic GoldenrodSolidago vaseyi
- Catawba RhododendronRhododendron catawbiense
- Great Smoky Mountains RhododendronRhododendron smokianum
- Cumberland AzaleaRhododendron cumberlandense
- Flame AzaleaRhododendron calendulaceum
- Northern Roughleaf GoldenrodSolidago patula
- Schweinitz's RagwortPackera schweinitziana
- Balsam Mountain HawthornCrataegus x oreophila
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Vesper Sparrow
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)
- Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab) (CC0 1.0), diet records by plant genus









































































