Bell's sparrow (''Artemisiospiza belli'') is a medium-sized sparrow of the western United States and northwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It used to be placed in the genus ''Amphispiza'', but recent evidence suggested it be placed in its own genus. Four populations are resident to the west: subspecies ''canescens'' breeds in south-central California, the dark nominate subspecies ''belli'' in the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. P ...

and part of the western slope of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

south to about 29°N in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, the equally dark subspecies ''clementeae'' limited to

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered b ...

, and subspecies ''cinerea'' in western Baja California from 29°N to 26°45′N. The AOU now considers Bell's sparrow a separate species, formerly grouped with the sagebrush sparrow, and together previously known as the sage sparrow.

Characteristics

Bell's sparrow is difficult to separate in the field from the sagebrush sparrow. Both species measure about long and weigh approximately . In general, with Bell's Sparrow the malar is darker than the head while on the sagebrush it is about the same shade of darkish gray. Bell's Sparrow also has a thicker malar strip than sagebrush. The amount a streaking on the back as well as the shade of the mantle may also be used to separate the two, but this is affected by wear on the feathers. Bell's also has little or no white in the tail, but this field mark alone may not be diagnostic. Bell's sparrows are indeed often tied to

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an alph ...

habitats, although they can also be found in brushy stands of

saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to ''Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...

chamise ''Adenostoma fasciculatum'', commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specia ...

, and other low shrubs of the arid west. The subspecies ''A. b. clementeae'' has been listed as

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

since 1977. This subspecies has grown in numbers since then as a result of conservation efforts conducted by the US Navy, resulting in the regrowth of native vegetation. and has been proposed for removal from the Endangered Species Act by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. The species' common name and binomial (''belli'') refer to

John Graham Bell John Graham Bell (July 12, 1812 – October 22, 1889) was an American taxidermist and collector. He traveled with John James Audubon Bell's sparrow Bell's sparrow (''Artemisiospiza belli'') is a medium-sized sparrow of the western United States and northwestern Mexico. It used to be placed in the genus ''Amphispiza'', but recent evidence suggested it be placed in its own genus. Four populat ...

Native birds of the Western United States Birds of Mexico Fauna of the Sonoran Desert

Bell's sparrow Bell's sparrow (''Artemisiospiza belli'') is a medium-sized sparrow of the western United States and northwestern Mexico. It used to be placed in the genus ''Amphispiza'', but recent evidence suggested it be placed in its own genus. Four populat ...