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Rufous-crowned sparrow
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Rufous-crowned sparrow
The rufous-crowned sparrow (Aimophila ruficeps) is a small American sparrow. This passerine is primarily found across the Southwestern United States and much of the interior of Mexico, south to the transverse mountain range, and to the Pacific coast to the southwest of the transverse range. Its distribution is patchy, with populations often being isolated from each other. Twelve subspecies are generally recognized, though up to eighteen have been suggested. This bird has a brown back with darker streaks and gray underparts. The crown is rufous, and the face and supercilium are gray with a brown or rufous streak extending from each eye and a thick black malar streak.
These sparrows feed primarily on seeds in the winter and insects in the spring and summer. The birds are often territorial, with males guarding their territory through song and displays. Flight is awkward for this species, which prefers to hop along the ground for locomotion. They are monogamous and breed during spring. Two to five eggs are laid in the bird's nest, which is cup-shaped and well hidden. Adult sparrows are preyed upon by house cats and small raptors, while young may be taken by a range of mammals and reptiles. They have been known to live for up to three years, two months. Although the species has been classified as least concern, or unthreatened with extinction, some subspecies are threatened by habitat destruction and one may be extinct.
This bird belongs to the family Passerellidae, which consists of the American sparrows. The American sparrows are seed-eating New World birds with conical bills, brown or gray plumage, and distinctive head patterns. Birds in the genus Aimophila tend to be medium-sized at 5 to 8 inches (13 to 20 cm) in length, live in arid scrubland, have long bills and tails in proportion to their body size as well as short, rounded wings, and build cup-shaped nests.
The rufous-crowned sparrow was described in 1852 by American ornithologist John Cassin as Ammodramus ruficeps. It has also been described as belonging to the genus Peucaea, which contains several sparrows in the genus Aimophila that share characteristics, such as a larger bill and a patch of yellow under the bend of the wing, that other members of the genus do not. However, splitting the Peucaea sparrows into a separate genus is not generally recognized. A 2008 phylogenetic analysis of the genus Aimophila divided it into four genera, with the rufous-crowned sparrow and its two closest relatives, the Oaxaca sparrow and rusty sparrow, being maintained as the genus Aimophila. In addition, this study suggested that the rufous-crowned sparrow may be more closely related to the brown towhees of the genus Pipilo than the other members of the historical genus Aimophila.
The derivation of the current genus name, Aimophila, is from the Greek aimos/ἀιμος, meaning "thicket", and -philos/-φιλος, meaning "loving". The specific epithet is a literal derivation of the common name, derived from the Latin rufus, meaning "reddish" or "tawny", and -ceps, from caput, meaning "head". The bird is also occasionally referred to colloquially as the rock sparrow because of its preference for rocky slopes.
Twelve subspecies are generally recognized, although sometimes up to eighteen are named.
The other six subspecies that are occasionally recognized are A. r. extima and A. r. pallidissima, which were described by A. R. Phillips in 1966, A. r. phillipsi, which was described by J.P. Hubbard and Crossin in 1974, and A. r. duponti, A. r. laybournae, and A. r. suttoni, which were described by J.P. Hubbard in 1975.
The rufous-crowned sparrow is a smallish sparrow at 5.25 inches (13.3 cm) in length, with males tending to be larger than females. It ranges from 15 to 23 g (0.53 to 0.81 oz) in weight and averages about 19 g (0.67 oz). It has a brown back with darker streaks and gray underparts. Its wings are short, rounded, and brown and lack wingbars, or a line of feathers of a contrasting color in the middle of the bird's wing. The sparrow's tail is long, brown, and rounded. The face and supercilium (the area above the eye) are gray with a brown or rufous streak extending from each eye and a thick black streak on each cheek. The crown ranges from rufous to chestnut, a feature which gives it its common name, and some subspecies have a gray streak running through the center of the crown. The bill is yellow and cone-shaped. The sparrow's throat is white with a dark stripe. Its legs and feet are pink-gray. Both sexes are similar in appearance, but the juvenile rufous-crowned sparrow has a brown crown and numerous streaks on its breast and flanks during the spring and autumn.
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Rufous-crowned sparrow
The rufous-crowned sparrow (Aimophila ruficeps) is a small American sparrow. This passerine is primarily found across the Southwestern United States and much of the interior of Mexico, south to the transverse mountain range, and to the Pacific coast to the southwest of the transverse range. Its distribution is patchy, with populations often being isolated from each other. Twelve subspecies are generally recognized, though up to eighteen have been suggested. This bird has a brown back with darker streaks and gray underparts. The crown is rufous, and the face and supercilium are gray with a brown or rufous streak extending from each eye and a thick black malar streak.
These sparrows feed primarily on seeds in the winter and insects in the spring and summer. The birds are often territorial, with males guarding their territory through song and displays. Flight is awkward for this species, which prefers to hop along the ground for locomotion. They are monogamous and breed during spring. Two to five eggs are laid in the bird's nest, which is cup-shaped and well hidden. Adult sparrows are preyed upon by house cats and small raptors, while young may be taken by a range of mammals and reptiles. They have been known to live for up to three years, two months. Although the species has been classified as least concern, or unthreatened with extinction, some subspecies are threatened by habitat destruction and one may be extinct.
This bird belongs to the family Passerellidae, which consists of the American sparrows. The American sparrows are seed-eating New World birds with conical bills, brown or gray plumage, and distinctive head patterns. Birds in the genus Aimophila tend to be medium-sized at 5 to 8 inches (13 to 20 cm) in length, live in arid scrubland, have long bills and tails in proportion to their body size as well as short, rounded wings, and build cup-shaped nests.
The rufous-crowned sparrow was described in 1852 by American ornithologist John Cassin as Ammodramus ruficeps. It has also been described as belonging to the genus Peucaea, which contains several sparrows in the genus Aimophila that share characteristics, such as a larger bill and a patch of yellow under the bend of the wing, that other members of the genus do not. However, splitting the Peucaea sparrows into a separate genus is not generally recognized. A 2008 phylogenetic analysis of the genus Aimophila divided it into four genera, with the rufous-crowned sparrow and its two closest relatives, the Oaxaca sparrow and rusty sparrow, being maintained as the genus Aimophila. In addition, this study suggested that the rufous-crowned sparrow may be more closely related to the brown towhees of the genus Pipilo than the other members of the historical genus Aimophila.
The derivation of the current genus name, Aimophila, is from the Greek aimos/ἀιμος, meaning "thicket", and -philos/-φιλος, meaning "loving". The specific epithet is a literal derivation of the common name, derived from the Latin rufus, meaning "reddish" or "tawny", and -ceps, from caput, meaning "head". The bird is also occasionally referred to colloquially as the rock sparrow because of its preference for rocky slopes.
Twelve subspecies are generally recognized, although sometimes up to eighteen are named.
The other six subspecies that are occasionally recognized are A. r. extima and A. r. pallidissima, which were described by A. R. Phillips in 1966, A. r. phillipsi, which was described by J.P. Hubbard and Crossin in 1974, and A. r. duponti, A. r. laybournae, and A. r. suttoni, which were described by J.P. Hubbard in 1975.
The rufous-crowned sparrow is a smallish sparrow at 5.25 inches (13.3 cm) in length, with males tending to be larger than females. It ranges from 15 to 23 g (0.53 to 0.81 oz) in weight and averages about 19 g (0.67 oz). It has a brown back with darker streaks and gray underparts. Its wings are short, rounded, and brown and lack wingbars, or a line of feathers of a contrasting color in the middle of the bird's wing. The sparrow's tail is long, brown, and rounded. The face and supercilium (the area above the eye) are gray with a brown or rufous streak extending from each eye and a thick black streak on each cheek. The crown ranges from rufous to chestnut, a feature which gives it its common name, and some subspecies have a gray streak running through the center of the crown. The bill is yellow and cone-shaped. The sparrow's throat is white with a dark stripe. Its legs and feet are pink-gray. Both sexes are similar in appearance, but the juvenile rufous-crowned sparrow has a brown crown and numerous streaks on its breast and flanks during the spring and autumn.
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