clay-colored sparrow

noun

1. a sparrow, Spizella pallida, of the interior of North America, having buff, brown, and white plumage with a pale-gray breast.

Word History and Origins

Origin of clay-colored sparrow¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

We were looking for a clay-colored sparrow, a rare visitor to the East Coast that had been spotted in this field at the Marshlands Conservancy in Rye, N.Y., over the last week.

From New York Times

But while a few sweeps of the field turned up a variety of birds -- including seven other species of sparrows -- the clay-colored sparrow remained out of sight.

From New York Times

The clay-colored sparrow was not one of them, and  we were disappointed to think we wouldn't be able to add it to the total.

From New York Times

And of course, one of them was the clay-colored sparrow, recorded in two spots - one in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, and "my" bird at Marshlands.

From New York Times

The song of the little clay-colored sparrow is also marked by a kind of drawl, giving one the impression that the bird is just a little too lazy to exert himself; yet when you get him in the field of your glass and see him throw back his head, expand his throat and chest, and open his mandibles as wide as he can, you quickly decide that he is not the apathetic creature his desultory song would lead you to infer.

From Project Gutenberg