Lincoln's Sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii) were found at 72% of the sites surveyed in California and Oregon. Lincoln's Sparrows were most common in moderately wet to very wet, i.e., flooded, meadows, with low levels of grazing damage. As expected, Lincoln's Sparrows were absent from the single site that lacked standing water and showed signs of heavy grazing. Only 3% of singing males were observed in areas of dry ground, while 93% were seen in either boggy (54.2%) or flooded (38.9%) sites. Unlike Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia), which were only observed in areas with willow, Lincoln's Sparrows were not limited to willow patches. Heavy damage from livestock grazing drastically increases the probability of local extirpation.
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