Sage Sparrow

Sage Sparrows are indeed often tied to sagebrush habitats, although they can also be found in brushy stands of saltbush, chamise, and other low shrubs of the arid Interior West.

The Sage Sparrow is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

The Sage Sparrow is a widespread breeder in shrub-steppe habitats from the northern edges of the Great Basin sagebrush expanses west of the Rocky Mountains to the chaparral and sagebrush scrub in Baja California. Great Basin sage-brush habitat was the focus of intense avian-community ecology studies from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, and these studies provide the basis of what is known about the Sage Sparrow today. More

The Sage Sparrow (Amphispiza belli) is a medium-sized sparrow of the western United States and northwestern Mexico. Sage Sparrows are indeed often tied to sagebrush habitats, although they can also be found in brushy stands of saltbush, chamise, and other low shrubs of the arid Interior West. The most widespread population (subspecies nevadensis) breeds in the interior of the Western United States (between the Rocky Mountains and the coastal ranges such as the Cascades). More

The San Clemente sage sparrow (Amphispiza belli clementeae) is a threatened, non-migratory subspecies endemic to San Clemente Island (SCI), which is the southernmost of the California Channel Islands. View Larger Map Map of San Clemente Island. It is about 50 miles from San Diego, CA. The U.S. Navy, which owns and manages SCI, has contracted the Institute for Wildlife Studies (IWS) to monitor this species since 1999. More

West, the Sage Sparrow faces threats on its Great Basin breeding grounds and on its year-round territory along the California coast. The fragmentation and degradation of Great Basin sagebrush habitat can render it unsuitable for Sage Sparrow breeding, while the destruction of coastal chaparral in California threatens the unique form of the species found there. More

Sage Sparrow: Breeds from Washington south to Baja California and throughout the Great Basin. Spends winters in small flocks in low desert of southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas, south into Mexico. Found in sagebrush flats, alkaline flats with saltbush, and semi-desert shrublands in the lowlands. More

the Sage Sparrow is found in eastern Washington and Oregon and southern Idaho, western Wyoming and Colorado, throughout Nevada and Utah, and throughout the year in California west of the Sierra Mountains south into Baja California. In winter it withdraws from the northern part of its range into Arizona, southern New Mexico, and into adjacent Mexico. Its habitat is diminishing because of habitat destruction; some populations in southern California have been extirpated due to urbanization and conversion to agriculture. More

The Sage Sparrow is a common but inconspicuous bird of sagebrush and chaparral in the arid western United States. It spends much of its time on the ground, running between shrubs with its tail raised in the air. More

* Sage Sparrow Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology * Sage Sparrow Information - South Dakota Birds and Birding * Sage Sparrow Amphispiza belli - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * Sage Sparrow photo gallery VIREO * Sage Sparrow videos on the Internet Bird Collection This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. More

Sage Sparrows breed in the Great Basin area of the western United States, ranging as far east as Wyoming and as far north as Washington. The species also breeds throughout California, both along the slopes of the Sierra Nevada and along much of the coast, and in coastal areas of northern and central Baja California. There is also an endangered form of Sage Sparrow found only on San Clemente Island, off the coast of southern California. More

^A Sage sparrow in Allscale saltbush (Atriplex polycarpa). These gray birds are fairly common permanent residents and breeders in Oasis Valley, although they wander about and sometimes are not around in summer as much. They favor transition shrubland of saltbush and rabbitbrush along the Amargosa River and spring wetlands, as well as far out into the creosote desert scrub uplands. In spring their songs can be heard in these habitats. More

North American RangeThe adult Sage Sparrow has a dark spot in the middle of its clear, white breast and streaked, buff sides. The upperparts are gray-brown; there are no streaks on the back and only light streaks on the wings. The Sage Sparrow's tail is long, narrow, and black, with thin white edges. The head is gray, with a white cheek stripe and black throat stripe below. The eye has a white eye-ring and a white spot above and in front of the eye. More

Some Sage Sparrows abandon parasitized nests, but other will raise the cowbirds. Two or three years is a typical lifespan for Sage Sparrows, but a few have reached six or seven years of age. The Birdzilla. More

The Sage Sparrow (Amphispiza belli) nests in the foothills and deserts of the American west in sagebrush habitat. The species nests in parts of Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. Sage Sparrows winter in parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. There are two distinct subspecies, the Pacific birds and the Interior birds; the former are darker overall. The photos shown here are of an individual of the interior race near Vernal, Uintah Co., Utah, in June, 2001. More

The San Clemente sage sparrow (Amphispiza belli clementeae; SCSS) is a subspecies endemic to San Clemente Island (SCI), California. A. b. clementeae was first recognized as a subspecies by Grinnell (1897), and then formally described by Ridgway (1898), who later doubted the validity of his claim. However, subspecies status was supported by van Rossem (1932) and is recognized to this day. The subspecies status of A. b. More

The Sage Sparrow (Amphispiza belli) is a medium-sized sparrow. This passerine bird is primarily found in the interior of the Western United States (between the Rocky Mountains and the coastal ranges such as the Cascades), ranging a bit down into Mexico, with a Pacific coastal subspecies known as Bell's Sparrow. Sage Sparrows are indeed often tied to sagebrush habitats, although they can also be found in brushy stands of saltbush, chamnise, and other low shrubs of the arid Interior West. More

Picture of an interior Sage sparrowSome of the sage sparrow's favorite plants are Sage brush, Artemisia spp., Chamise, Adenostoma spp., Bitterbush, Purshia spp., and Salt bush, Atriplex spp. They like a dense cover of shrubs. The Sage sparrow will use a bird bath. Diet of the Sage sparrow During the breeding season the sage sparrow eats a mixture of seeds, insects and spiders. During the non breading season the sage sparrow eats mainly seeds. They glean from low shrubs or herbs. More

Sage Sparrow is vulnerable due to its dependency on native sage shrub habitat, and has declined in some areas. Population trends for New Mexico are uncertain. More

The belli subspecies (Bell's Sage Sparrow) has been listed as a Species of Special Concern in California. The San Clemente Island subspecies (A.b. clementeae), was listed as Threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1977. DISTRIBUTION: HISTORICAL DISTRIBUTION: Formerly known as the Bell Sparrow, the belli subspecies was described as a "common resident of the Upper Sonoran zone west of the desert divides" where it "adheres closely to the chamisal (Adensostoma fasciculatum) association"(Grinnell 1915). More

Sage Sparrow, and a metapopulation model, which predicts the viability of the species based on a dynamic spatial structure as determined by the landscape and the habitat models. Bell's Sage Sparrow depends on early successional shrubland (chaparral) habitat, especially when the availability of preferred open coastal subshrub vegetation is limited. More

Sage Sparrows have a very limited distribution in Colorado outside of Physiographic Area 87, occurring only uncommonly in the mountain parks. Sage Sparrows' elevational range is narrower than that of the other sagebrush obligate species and is at the low to middle elevations of sagebrush. They winter in the Southwest U.S., Baja California, and northern Mexico. Habitat Requirements: Sage Sparrows breed almost exclusively in sagebrush (especially big sagebrush), or sagebrush mixed with other shrubs. More

like more than to see a sage sparrowBIRD COUNTERS PREP FOR BIG DAY AVIAN CENSUS SET FOR JAN. 3 by Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)The habitat is important to several fragile populations of native birds, including the sage sparrow, sage grouse andSaving the sagebrush Nature Conservancy springs a radical idea in E. ... by Mapes, Lynda V. More

Sage sparrow - Dictionary Definition and Overview = Sage \Sage\, n. (Bot.) (a) A suffruticose labiate plant ({Salvia officinalis) with grayish green foliage, much used in flavoring meats, etc. The name is often extended to the whole genus, of which many species are cultivated for ornament, as the scarlet sage, and Mexican red and blue sage. (b) The sagebrush. Meadow sage (Bot.), a blue-flowered species of Salvia ({S. pratensis) growing in meadows in Europe. More