Massasauga rattlesnake and Florida grasshopper sparrow have fire in common (photos: Jim Chapman and Wikimedia Commons)

6 November 2025

Habitat is everything. We tend to forget this because humans are versatile and avoid places where we cannot survive (Antarctica). Many species, though, require a specific habitat for their livelihood. When it becomes scarce, they have nowhere to live and may go extinct.

Less than 200 years ago grasslands dominated much of the continental U.S. where fires and less rainfall kept them open. Since then most grasslands have been converted to farmland, cattle ranges, or suburbs and now more than half of what remains is at risk of range-wide collapse. Relict grasslands support the last remaining species. The relicts themselves would disappear were it not for prescribed fire.

Last week I highlighted the massasauga rattlesnake, a habitat specialist that relies on prairies for its survival. Two weeks from now Phipps Conservatory will highlight another grassland specialist, the Florida grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus), with a screening of the film The Little Brown Bird and a panel discussion.

screenshot from The Little Brown Bird Film website

On Wednesday November 19, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Phipps Conservatory is hosting a screening of the new nature documentary The Little Brown Bird, which tells the story of the Florida grasshopper sparrow, one of the most endangered birds in North America. A few years ago, there were as few as 50 Florida grasshopper sparrows remaining – today, there are as many as 200.

The 30-minute film focuses on the work of wildlife biologist Fabiola ‘Fabby’ Baeza-Tarin and a coalition of conservation partners who are working to rescue this sparrow back from the brink. The film’s director and cinematographer, KT Bryden, will join attendees virtually for a discussion after the film, and a panel of local speakers—including Ryan Miller, a wildlife biologist with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy; Julie Travaglini, the director of education for the Allegheny Land Trust; and myself, Andrew Moore, a nature writer and author.

In addition to the Florida grasshopper sparrow the panel discussion will touch on the plight of grasslands and the endangered species they host, such as the massasauga rattlesnake in Pennsylvania.

Join Phipps for a screening and discussion of The Little Brown Bird. Price is $15 for members, $20 for non-members. Click here for tickets.

Want a preview? Here’s a link to the 30 min film.

p.s. There are 12 subspecies of grasshopper sparrows. We see Ammodramus savannarum pratensis in Pennsylvania as it breeds in the eastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. The Florida grasshopper sparrow is non-migratory and only occurs in a small part of Central Florida.