American tree sparrow

Last updated

American tree sparrow
American Tree Sparrow - Flickr - Fyn Kynd.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passerellidae
Genus: Spizelloides
Slager & Klicka, 2014
Species:
S. arborea
Binomial name
Spizelloides arborea
(Wilson, 1810)
Spizelloides arborea map.svg
Range map of Spizelloides arborea
  Breeding
  Migration
  Nonbreeding
Synonyms

Spizella monticola
Spizella arborea
Passerella arborea

Contents

American tree sparrow in Central Park American tree sparrow in CP (41285) (cropped).jpg
American tree sparrow in Central Park

The American tree sparrow (Spizelloides arborea), also known as the winter sparrow, [2] is a medium-sized New World sparrow.

Taxonomy

In 2014, the American tree sparrow was moved to its own monotypic genus, Spizelloides, from genus Spizella , based on polyphyly in Spizella and multilocus molecular evidence suggesting the species was strongly divergent from other extant genera. [3] [4]

Spizelloides arborea CT5.jpg

Description

Measurements: [5]

Adults have a rusty cap and grey underparts with a small dark spot on the breast. They have a rusty back with lighter stripes, brown wings with white bars and a slim tail. Their face is grey with a rusty line through the eye. Their flanks are splashed with light brown. They are similar in appearance to the chipping sparrow.

Distribution and habitat

Their breeding habitat is tundra or the northern limits of the boreal forest in Alaska and northern Canada. They nest on the ground. American tree sparrows migrate into southern Canada and the United States to spend the winter.

Diet and behavior

These birds forage on the ground or in low bushes, often in flocks when not nesting. They mainly eat seeds and insects, but also eat some berries. They are commonly seen near feeders with dark-eyed juncos.

Call

This bird's song is a sweet high warble descending in pitch and becoming buzzy near the finish.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dark-eyed junco</span> Species of bird

The dark-eyed junco is a species of junco, a group of small, grayish New World sparrows. The species is common across much of temperate North America and in summer it ranges far into the Arctic. It is a variable species, much like the related fox sparrow, and its systematics are still not completely resolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipping sparrow</span> Species of bird

The chipping sparrow is a species of New World sparrow, a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It is widespread, fairly tame, and common across most of its North American range.

<i>Pipilo</i> Genus of birds

Pipilo is a genus of birds in the American sparrow family Passerellidae. It is one of two genera containing birds with the common name towhee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooded warbler</span> Species of bird

The hooded warbler is a New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America across the eastern United States and into southernmost Canada (Ontario). It is migratory, wintering in Central America and the West Indies. Hooded warblers are very rare vagrants to western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Field sparrow</span> Species of bird

The field sparrow is a small New World sparrow in the family Passerellidae. It is about 140 mm (6 in) long and weighs about 12.5 g (0.4 oz). The head is grey with a rust-coloured crown, white eye-ring and pink bill. The upper parts are brown streaked with black and buff, the breast is buff, the belly is white and the tail is forked. There are two different colour morphs, one being greyer and the other more rufous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henslow's sparrow</span> Species of bird

Henslow's sparrow is a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It was named by John James Audubon in honor of John Stevens Henslow. It was originally classified in the genus Emberiza and called Henslow's bunting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LeConte's sparrow</span> Species of bird

LeConte's sparrow, also known as LeConte's bunting, is one of the smallest New World sparrow species in North America.

<i>Spizella</i> Genus of birds

The genus Spizella is a group of American sparrows in the family Passerellidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brewer's sparrow</span> Species of bird

Brewer's sparrow is a small, slim species of American sparrow in the family Passerellidae. This bird was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crissal thrasher</span> Species of bird

The crissal thrasher is a large thrasher found in the Southwestern United States to central Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birds of North American boreal forests</span>

The boreal forest or taiga of the North American continent stretches through a majority of Canada and most of central Alaska, extending spottily into the beginning of the Rocky Mountain range in Northern Montana and into New England and the Adirondack Mountains of New York. This habitat extends as far north as the tree line and discontinues in mixed deciduous-coniferous forests to the south. The "taiga", as it is called there, of Eurasia occupies a similar range on those continents. Throughout the Northern Hemisphere, the boreal forest covers 2.3 million square miles, a larger area than the remaining Brazilian Amazon rainforest. Although it is largely forest, the boreal forests include a network of lakes, river valleys, wetlands, peat lands and semi-open tundra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New World sparrow</span> Family of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaco sparrow</span> Species of bird

The Chaco sparrow, formerly known as the stripe-capped sparrow, is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae. It is found in Argentina and Paraguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moustached brushfinch</span> Species of bird

The moustached brushfinch is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae.

<i>Peucaea</i> Genus of birds

Peucaea is a genus of American sparrows. The species in this genus used to be included in the genus Aimophila.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2021). "Passerella arborea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T22721159A138528295. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22721159A138528295.en . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  2. Sandrock, James; Prior, Jean C. (2014). The Scientific Nomenclature of Birds in the Upper Midwest. Iowa City, IA, US: University of Iowa Press. p. 137. ISBN   978-1-60938-225-4.
  3. Slager, David L.; Klicka, John (2014). "A new genus for the American Tree Sparrow (Aves: Passeriformes: Passerellidae)". Zootaxa. 3821 (3): 398–400. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3821.3.9. PMID   24989754.
  4. Klicka, J.; Barker, F.K.; Burns, K.J.; Lanyon, S.M.; Lovette, I.J.; Chaves, J.A.; Bryson, Jr., R.W. (2014). "A comprehensive multilocus assessment of sparrow (Family Passerellidae) relationships". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 77: 177–182. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.04.025. PMID   24792084.
  5. "American Tree Sparrow Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-29.

Further reading

Book

Thesis

Articles