Black-throated Sparrow

Taxobox
name = Black-throated Sparrow
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1

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regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Emberizidae
genus = "Amphispiza"
species = "A. bilineata"
binomial = "Amphispiza bilineata"
binomial_authority = (Cassin, 1850)

The Black-throated Sparrow ("Amphispiza bilineata") is a small sparrow primarily found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is sometimes referred to as the Desert Sparrow, due to its preferred habitat of arid desert hillsides and scrub.

The Black-throated Sparrow reaches a length of about 4.5-5.5 inches, and is pale gray above, with a distinctive black and white head pattern.Immature are similar but lacks a black throat. Its call is high and bell-like, and its song is a fairly simple, mechanical tinkling. It feeds primarily on insects and seeds, and travels in small groups, though larger groups may accumulate around sources of water in the desert.

It has a loose nest of grass twigs and plant fibers carefully hidden in brush 6-18 inches above the ground. 3-4 white or pale blue eggs are laid.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
*David Allen Sibley, "The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America". ISBN 0-679-45121-8

External links

* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i5730id.html Black-throated Sparrow - Amphispiza bilineata] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* [http://sdakotabirds.com/species/black_throated_sparrow_info.htm Black-throated Sparrow Information and Photos] - South Dakota Birds and Birding
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Black-throated_Sparrow.html Black-throated Sparrow Species Account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Further reading

Book

* Johnson, M. J., C. van Riper III, and K. M. Pearson. 2002. "Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata)". In "The Birds of North America", No. 637 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Theses

* Contreras S. M.S. (2004). "Small mammal, herpetofauna, and avian communities of the O2 Ranch, Brewster and Presidio counties, Texas". Sul Ross State University, United States -- Texas.

* Hamilton ME. M.S. (1999). "Avian habitat relationships in the Mojave Desert". University of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States -- Nevada.

* Kirkpatrick CK. M.S. (1999). "Trends in grassland bird abundance following prescribed burning in southern Arizona". The University of Arizona, United States -- Arizona.

* Repasky RR. Ph.D. (1992). "Habitat partitioning by sparrows along an elevational gradient". The University of British Columbia (Canada), Canada.

* Torres SG. M.S. (1983). "TERRITORIAL ESTABLISHMENT BY BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA". The University of Arizona, United States -- Arizona.

* Tuckfield RC. Ph.D. (1985). "ECOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON THE GEOGRAPHIC PATTERNS OF SONG VARIATION IN TWO DESERT SPARROWS (BLACK-THROATED, SHIFT, SAGE, CHARACTER)". Indiana University, United States -- Indiana.

* Zimmer KJ. Ph.D. (1993). "Spatial and temporal variation in the breeding and foraging ecology of black-throated sparrows". New Mexico State University, United States -- New Mexico.

Articles

* Avise JC, Patton JC & Aquadro CF. (1980). "Evolutionary Genetics of Birds 2. Conservative Protein Evolution in North American Sparrows and Relatives". Systematic Zoology. vol 29, no 4. p. 323-334.

* Brunton DF & Pratt T. (1986). "Sightings of a Black-Throated Sparrow Amphispiza-Bilineata and a Black Vulture Coragyps-Atratus New-Record in British-Columbia Canada". Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 100, no 2. p. 256-257.

* Carson RJ & Spicer GS. (2003). "A phylogenetic analysis of the emberizid sparrows based on three mitochondrial genes". Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution. vol 29, no 1. p. 43-57.

* Coe SJ & Rotenberry JT. (2003). "Water availability affects clutch size in a desert sparrow". Ecology. vol 84, no 12. p. 3240-3249.

* Cook AG. (1984). "Birds of the Desert Region of Uintah County Utah USA". Great Basin Naturalist. vol 44, no 4. p. 584-620.

* Emlen JT. (1979). "Land Bird Densities on Baja-California Mexico Islands". Auk. vol 96, no 1. p. 152-167.

* Fisler GF. (1977). "Interspecific Hierarchy at an Artificial Food Source". Animal Behaviour. vol 25, no 1. p. 240-244.

* Flanders AA, Kuvlesky WP, Jr., Ruthven DC, III, Zaiglin RE, Bingham RL, Fulbright TE, Hernandez F & Brennan LA. (2006). "Effects of invasive exotic grasses on South Texas rangeland breeding birds". Auk. vol 123, no 1. p. 171-182.

* George TL. (1987). "Greater Land Bird Densities on Island Vs. Mainland Relation to Nest Predation Level". Ecology. vol 68, no 5. p. 1393-1400.

* Gustafson GR. (1976). "A Sage Sparrow Egg in a Black-Throated Sparrow Nest". Auk. vol 92, no 4. p. 805-806.

* Gustafson JR. (1975). "SAGE SPARROW EGG IN A BLACK-THROATED SPARROW NEST". Auk. vol 92, no 4. p. 805-806.

* Hewes WJ. (1971). "Black-Throated Sparrow in Virginia". Atlantic Naturalist. vol 26, no 2. p. 78-79.

* Hill HO. (1980). "Breeding Birds in a Desert Scrub Community in Southern Nevada USA". Southwestern Naturalist. vol 25, no 2. p. 173-180.

* Hunn ES. (1978). "Black-Throated Sparrow Vagrants in the Pacific Northwest". Western Birds. vol 9, no 2. p. 85-89.

* Janssen RB. (1974). "A Black-Throated Sparrow in Minnesota". Loon. vol 46, no 3. p. 100-101.

* Johnson MJ & van Riper C, III. (2004). "Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism of the Black-throated Sparrow in central Arizona". Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 75, no 3. p. 303-311.

* Kozma JM & Mathews NE. (1997). "Breeding bird communities and nest plant selection in Chihuahuan desert habitats in south-central New Mexico". Wilson Bulletin. vol 109, no 3. p. 424-436.

* Lissel T. (1995). "Black-throated sparrow at Olds, Alberta". Blue Jay. vol 53, no 2.

* Mason LC, Desmond MJ & Agudelo MS. (2005). "Influence of grassland type, nest type, and shrub encroachment on predation of artificial nests in Chihuahuan desert grasslands". Western North American Naturalist. vol 65, no 2. p. 196-201.

* Medin DE. (1986). "Grazing and Passerine Breeding Birds in a Great Basin USA Low-Shrub Desert". Great Basin Naturalist. vol 46, no 3. p. 567-572.

* Medin DE. (1992). "BIRDS OF A GREAT-BASIN SAGEBRUSH HABITAT IN EAST-CENTRAL NEVADA". Usda Forest Service Intermountain Research Station Research Paper. no 452. p. U1-U4.

* Menk GE & Stevenson HM. (1978). "A Florida Specimen of the Black-Throated Sparrow". Florida Field Naturalist. vol 6, no 1.

* Pidgeon AM, Radeloff VC & Mathews NE. (2003). "Landscape-scale patterns of black-throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) abundance and nest success". Ecological Applications. vol 13, no 2. p. 530-542.

* Pidgeon AM, Radeloff VC & Mathews NE. (2006). "Contrasting measures of fitness to classify habitat quality for the black-throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata)". Biological Conservation. vol 132, no 2. p. 199-210.

* Repasky RR & Schluter D. (1996). "Habitat distributions of wintering sparrows: Foraging success in a transplant experiment". Ecology. vol 77, no 2. p. 452.

* Scott JM, Thackaberry W & Bertrand GA. (1971). "A Specimen of the Black-Throated Sparrow from Western Oregon". Murrelet. vol 52, no 3.

* Weathers WW. (1981). "Physiological Thermo Regulation in Heat Stressed Birds Consequences of Body Size". Physiological Zoology. vol 54, no 3. p. 345-361.

* Wingfield JC, Vleck CM & Moore MC. (1992). "Seasonal changes of the adrenocortical response to stress in birds of the Sonoran Desert". Journal of Experimental Zoology. vol 264, no 4. p. 419-428.