Bell's sparrow (''Artemisiospiza belli'') is a medium-sized
sparrow of the western United States and northwestern
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. 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 County, California, Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Trans ...
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 primari ...
south to about 29°N in Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
, 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 administer ...
, 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.[
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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 (plant), Artemisia''. The best-known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrush is native to the western half of North Amer ...
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, and other low shrubs of the arid west.
The subspecies ''A. b. clementeae'' has been listed as threatened
A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...
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. ][
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References
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External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q792447
Bell's sparrow
Birds of Mexico
Fauna of the Sonoran Desert
Bell's sparrow
Bell's sparrow