The timberline sparrow (''Spizella breweri taverneri'') is a
taxonomical
In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...
ly controversial
American sparrow
New World sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns.
Although they share t ...
. Usually treated as a
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of
Brewer's sparrow
Brewer's sparrow (''Spizella breweri'') is a small, slim species of American sparrow in the family Passerellidae. This bird was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.
Description and systematics
Adults have grey-brown backs and speck ...
, it is considered a distinct
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
''Spizella taverneri'' by some authorities. While the timberline sparrow recognizably differs in some details, there is little
reproductive isolation
The mechanisms of reproductive isolation are a collection of evolutionary mechanisms, behaviors and physiological processes critical for speciation. They prevent members of different species from producing offspring, or ensure that any offspring ...
between the
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
.
When it was still considered a species, it was listed as being of
least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
.
[E.g. Baillie ''et al.'' (2004).]
Footnotes
References
* (2004): ''2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. A Global Species Assessment.'' IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7804717
Spizella
Birds described in 1925
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot