Black-chinned Sparrow (Spizella atrogularis)
Taxonomy:
View taxonomy in ITISListing Status: Not Listed
General Information
Black-chinned Sparrows are small in size with a thin notched tail. Their head, underparts, rump, and uppertail-coverts are grayish, while their lower belly is whitish gray. Breeding males have a black upper throat and chin; brown wings, tail, primaries, greater-coverts, median-coverts and back with blackish streaks. Females have duller, restricted black on their face and chin; juveniles and winter adults have gray throat and lores. Juveniles have paler crowns and underparts lightly streaked with brownish wash.References cited in Species Profile
- Desante, D. F. and T. L. George. 1994. Population trends in the landbirds of western North America. Stud. Avian Biol. 15:173-189.
- Grinnell, J. and H. S. Swarth. 1926. Geographic variation in Spizella atrogularis. Auk 43:475-478.
- Johnson, N. K. and C. Cicero. 1985. The breeding avifauna of San Benito Mountain, California: evidence for change over a half-century. West. Birds 16:1-23.
- Newman, J. D. 1968. California Black-chinned Sparrow. Pages 1246-1247 in Life histories of cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings, towhees, finches, sparrow, and their allies. (Austin, Jr., O. L., Ed.) U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 237.
- Paige, L. C. 1990. Population trends of songbirds in western North America. Master's Thesis. Univ. of Montana, Missoula.
- Price, J., S. Droege, and A. Price. 1995. The summer atlas of North American birds.Academic Press, London.
- Tenney, Chris R. 1997. Black-chinned Sparrow (Spizella atrogularis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/270
- Weathers, W. 1983. Birds of southern California's deep canyon. Univ. of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.
» Range Information
Current Range
Current range maps are only shown within the jurisdictional boundaries of the United States of America. The species may also occur outside this region.
Wherever found
Listing status: Not Listed
- States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur:
- US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
- USFWS Refuges in which this population is known to occur:
» Candidate Information
No Candidate information available for this species.
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No Candidate Notice of Review Documents currently available for this species.
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» Federal Register Documents
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» Species Status Assessments (SSAs)
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» Recovery
No Current Recovery Plans available for this species.
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» Critical Habitat
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To see all FWS Issued Biological Opinions please visit the BO Report.
» Life History
Habitat Requirements
During breeding season, Black-chinned Sparrows can be found in arid brushlands on rugged mountain slopes from sea level to almost 2,700 m. While wintering, resident populations occupy habitat similar to but downslope from breeding areas, with other populations inhabiting desert grasslands. Nests are compact but loosely constructed open cup made of interwoven stems.
Food Habits
While breeding, Black-chinned Sparrows mainly eat adult and larval insects, but this diet shifts to seeds of grasses and forbs in the winter. They glean insects from inner foliage and ground, and extract grass seeds directly from racemes.
Movement / Home Range
Breeding mostly occurs in California, Baja California, Arizona and New Mexico, but this range covers small portions of southern Nevada and southwestern Utah. Wintering range covers Baja California Sur and northern Mexico. Populations in central California and Baja California migrate south to Baja California Sur.
Other
Extensive mining, use of trail bikes, and off-roading vehicles have degraded Black-chinned Sparrow breeding habitat. Extensive grazing harms wintering habitat. BBS data reveal a significant decline in Black-chinned Sparrow numbers in California from 1966 to 1991. In addition, they are increasing in New Mexico and generally stable elsewhere.
» Other Resources
NatureServe Explorer Species Reports-- NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.
ITIS Reports-- ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.
FWS Digital Media Library -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video." +
