To date, studies of the habitat selection process in grassland passerines have neglected the role of settlement cues, the proximate habitat cues birds use to establish breeding territories. I evaluated the settlement cues and resource use for two species of grassland birds, Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum) and Baird's Sparrows (Ammodramus bairdii), between 2002 and 2004 in North Dakota, USA and Saskatchewan, Canada. Regional settlement patterns for Grasshopper Sparrows and Baird's Sparrows may be partially driven by weather patterns. Spring densities of Grasshopper Sparrows were positively related to May precipitation, and spring densities of Baird's Sparrows were negatively related to the previous winter's snowfall. At the territory level, Grasshopper Sparrows responded negatively to the cover of woody vegetation in the habitat. Baird's Sparrow results suggest birds choose habitat based on characteristics conducive to their foraging behavior. Experimental playback results suggest the presence of conspecifics may be a cue for territory establishment by Baird's Sparrows. Social cues may play an important role in the habitat selection process for this species. I also assessed the potential use of vegetation as predictive cues for invertebrate food resources. Results indicate more cover of live forbs in early May predict higher densities of Lepidoptera larvae in June, and less open ground in early May indicates higher densities of Araneae in June. However, none of the vegetation parameters predicted the June densities of Orthoptera. Lepidoptera larvae and Orthoptera were the two dominant food items for both species. I examined the range of habitat use for both species. Baird's Sparrows showed the widest range of habitat use in Saskatchewan where densities were the highest. The presence of conspecifics may cause adults to be more flexible in their habitat use. Grasshopper Sparrows exhibited more variation in the range of habitat use across sites. For this species, the range of habitat use was constrained by the vegetation available at the site. By examining the range of use across multiple sites within both species' range and at different population densities, patterns of habitat use become more apparent.