Brewer's Sparrow
Encyclopedia
Brewer's Sparrow is a small, slim species
of American sparrow
in the family
Emberizidae
. This bird was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer
.
(S. pallida) but do not have a pale stripe on the crown or grey neck patch.
The male sings to defend a nesting territory. The song is a long varied mix of notes and trills. Males have 2 distinct types of songs - classified as short and long songs.
There are two distinct subspecies
:
to the southwestern United States
south to central Mexico
. These birds forage primarily in shrubs or in low vegetation, but also on the ground. They mainly eat insects in summer with seeds becoming a more important part of the diet at other times of the year. They usually forage in flocks outside of the breeding season, sometimes with other sparrows. The female typically lays 3 to 4 eggs (up to 5) in a cup nest in low shrubs.
Brewer's Sparrow has decreased in some parts of their range. Causes are not well understood, but it is suspected that the decline is due at least in part to destruction of sagebrush habitat. Additional information on resource use and limitation during the wintering season is desperately needed. When the Timberline Sparrow was still considered a good species, Brewer's Sparrow was classified as Near threatened
by the IUCN. However, as only entire species are evaluated for the IUCN Red List
, following the merger the entire population of S. breweri is classified as Species of Least Concern
.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of American sparrow
American sparrow
American sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Emberizidae
Emberizidae
The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the sparrows, the...
. This bird was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer
Thomas Mayo Brewer
Thomas Mayo Brewer was an American naturalist.Mayo is best known as the joint author, with Baird and Ridgway, of A History of North American Birds , which was the first attempt since John James Audubon's to complete the study of American ornithology.Brewer was born in Boston...
.
Description and systematics
Adults have grey-brown backs and speckled brown crowns, both with dark streaks, and a pale eye-ring. Their wings are brown with light wing bars and the underparts are pale grey. Their bill is pale with a dark tip and they have a long notched tail. They are similar in appearance to the Clay-colored SparrowClay-colored Sparrow
The Clay-colored Sparrow is a small sparrow of North America.-Overview:Adults have light brown upperparts and pale underparts, with darker streaks on the back. They have a pale crown stripe on a dark brown crown, a white line over the eyes, a dark line through the eyes, a light brown cheek patch...
(S. pallida) but do not have a pale stripe on the crown or grey neck patch.
The male sings to defend a nesting territory. The song is a long varied mix of notes and trills. Males have 2 distinct types of songs - classified as short and long songs.
There are two distinct subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
:
- Brewer's Sparrow proper, Spizella breweri breweri
- Found in brushy areas, especially with sagebrushSagebrushSagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
, in southern parts of western CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and in the western United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.- Timberline SparrowTimberline SparrowThe Timberline Sparrow is a taxonomically controversial American sparrow. Usually treated as a subspecies of Brewer's Sparrow, it is still considered a distinct species Spizella taverneri by many authorities...
, Spizella breweri taverneri
- Timberline Sparrow
- Found in thicketed areas around the tree line in the RockiesRocky MountainsThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
of northern British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, the southern YukonYukonYukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
and southeastern AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. These birds are somewhat darker and larger than the southern subspecies; some consider this to be a separate species.
Ecology and status
These birds migrateBird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to the southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
south to central Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. These birds forage primarily in shrubs or in low vegetation, but also on the ground. They mainly eat insects in summer with seeds becoming a more important part of the diet at other times of the year. They usually forage in flocks outside of the breeding season, sometimes with other sparrows. The female typically lays 3 to 4 eggs (up to 5) in a cup nest in low shrubs.
Brewer's Sparrow has decreased in some parts of their range. Causes are not well understood, but it is suspected that the decline is due at least in part to destruction of sagebrush habitat. Additional information on resource use and limitation during the wintering season is desperately needed. When the Timberline Sparrow was still considered a good species, Brewer's Sparrow was classified as Near threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
by the IUCN. However, as only entire species are evaluated for the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
, following the merger the entire population of S. breweri is classified as Species of Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
.
External links
- Effects of Management Practices on Brewer's Sparrow - NPWRC
- Brewer's Sparrow Information - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Brewer's Sparrow - Spizella breweri - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Brewer's Sparrow photo gallery VIREO