- Savannah Sparrow
Taxobox
name = Savannah Sparrow
image_width = 200px
image_caption = Summer bird, Alaska. Probably "P. s. anthinus"
status = LC
status_system = iucn3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Aves
ordo =Passeriformes
subordo =Passeri
infraordo =Passerida
superfamilia =Passeroidea
familia =Emberizidae
genus = "Passerculus"
genus_authority = Bonaparte,1838
species = "P. sandwichensis"
binomial = "Passerculus sandwichensis"
binomial_authority = (Gmelin, 1789)
subdivision_ranks =Subspecies
subdivision =Some 10-20, see article textThe Savannah Sparrow ("Passerculus sandwichensis") is a small
American sparrow . It is the only widely accepted member of thegenus "Passerculus". Recent comparison ofmtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 and 3 sequences indicates that the Ipswich Sparrow, formerly usually considered a good species (as "Passerculus princeps"), is a well-markedsubspecies of the Savannah Sparrow, whereas the southwestern subspecies should be recognized as distinct speciesLarge-billed Sparrow ("Passerculus rostratus").Zink "et al." (2005)]It is named after
Savannah, Georgia where one of the first specimens of this bird was collected.This
passerine bird breeds inAlaska ,Canada , northern, central and Pacific coastalUSA ,Mexico andGuatemala . The Pacific and Mexican breeders are resident, but other populations are migratory, wintering from the southern United States to northernSouth America . It is a very rare vagrant to westernEurope .Description
This species has a typically sparrow-like dark-streaked brown back, and whitish underparts with brown or blackish breast and flank streaking. It has a yellowish or whitish crown and eyebrow stripes. The cheeks are brown and the throat white.
The Savannah Sparrow is a very variable species, with numerous
subspecies , several of which have been split as separate species at various times. The different forms vary principally in the darkness of the plumage, with Alaskan and interior races the palest, and southwestern coastal forms the darkest; by and large ths agrees with the new species limits. The Savannah Sparrows proper (see below) are very similar and migrant birds can not usually be related to a breeding population with certainty. The resident or partially migratory subspecies are well distinguishable by size and, particularly between groups, coloration. The song is mixture of "chirps" and trills. The flight call is a thin "seep".Behavior
These birds forage on the ground or in low bushes. They mainly eat seeds, but insects are also eaten in the breeding season. They form flocks in the winter to migrate.
ystematics
Seventeen subspecies (including the Large-billed Sparrows) are currently recognized. Four additional subspecies are not generally accepted. The subspecies are usually divided into several groups:
avannah Sparrows proper
All are migratory.
* "P. s. labradorius", breeds in Newfoundland,Labrador , and NQuebec
* "P. s. oblitus", breeds in NOntario andManitoba
* "P. s. savanna" (Eastern Savannah Sparrow), breeds in the NE USA and adjacent Canada (includes "P. s. mediogriseus")
* "P. s. sandwichensis" (Aleutian Savannah Sparrow), breeds on theAleutian Islands and WAlaskan Peninsula
* "P. s. anthinus", breeds in the remainder of Alaska, south and east to centralBritish Columbia and north of theGreat Plains to Manitoba
* "P. s. brooksi" (Dwarf Savannah Sparrow), breeds in southernmost British Columbia to northernmostCalifornia
* "P. s. alaudinus", breeds in coastal northern and central California
* "P. s. nevadensis", breeds in the N Great Plains and theGreat Basin
* "P. s. brunnescens", breeds from central Mexico south to Guatemala (includes "P. s. rufofuscus")"P. s. wetmorei" is a doubtful subspecies which may breed in the mountains of Guatemala. It is known from only 5 specimens, collected June 11-17, 1897, in
Huehuetenango Department .Fact|date=February 2007Ipswich Sparrow
Large-billed Sparrow sThe Large-billed Sparrows proper are 2-3 dark, large and strong-billed subspecies:
* "Passerculus rostratus rostratus" (or "P. s. rostratus"), which breed on the Gulf Coast of NEBaja California and NWSonora (some post-breeding dispersal).
* "P. r. atratus" (or "P. s. atratus"), resident on the coast of centralSonora to centralSinaloa (resident)The Belding's (Savannah/Large-billed) Sparrows are all-year residents of
salt marsh es of theCalifornia n Pacific coast. They are dark, rufous, and have rather long but not very hefty bills.
* "P. r. beldingi" (or "P. s. beldingi"), resident on the Pacific Coast fromMorro Bay , California, toEl Rosario , Baja California (includes "P. r./s. bryanti")
* "P. r. anulus" (or "P. s. anulus"), resident aroundSebastián Vizcaíno Bay , Baja California
* "P. r. guttatus" (or "P. s. guttatus"), resident aroundSan Ignacio Lagoon
* "P. r. magdalenae" (or "P. s. magdalenae"), resident aroundMagdalena Bay The San Benito (Savannah/Large-billed) Sparrow is a resident bird of the
Islas San Benito off Baja California; a stray bird was observed onCedros Island on April 21, 1906 [Thayer & Bangs (1907)]
* "P. r. sanctorum" (or "P. s. sanctorum"):This is a large-bodied and large-billed subspecies, similar to "rostratus". They utilize different habitat and their breeding season does not seem to coincide with that of Belding's Sparrows [For late April 1906, Thayer & Bangs (1907) report nestlings, young birds molting into adult plumage, but no eggs anymore. Rising "in" Zink "et al." (2005) found no breeding activity in late April 1999. Consequently, breeding seems to take place in the winter months, with the last young fledging in April/May.] . However, their bill size is due toconvergent evolution and their habitat choice simply to the lack of alternatives on their barren island home; altogether, it appears to be a fairly recent offshoot from the Belding's Sparrows group. It appears as distinctevolution arily from these as does the Ipswich Sparrow from the Savannah Sparrow proper group, only that there seems to have been moregene flow and/or a largerfounder population in the case of the latter.Footnotes
References
*|year=2004|id=53557|title=Passerculus sandwichensis|downloaded=12 May 2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
* (1995): "Sparrows and Buntings: A Guide to the Sparrows and Buntings of North America and the World". Houghton Mifflin, Boston. ISBN 0-395-73873-3
* (1907): Birds Collected by W. W. Brown, Jr., on Cerros ["sic"] , San Benito and Natividad Islands in the Spring of 1906, with Notes on the Biota of the Islands. "Condor" 9(3): 77-81. doi|10.2307/1361136 [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v009n03/p0077-p0081.pdf PDF fulltext]
* (2005): Mitochondrial DNA variation, species limits, and rapid evolution of plumage coloration and size in the Savannah Sparrow. "Condor" 107(1): 21–28. DOI|10.1650/7550 (HTML abstract)External links
* [http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/search/speciesDetails_e.cfm?SpeciesID=49 Species at risk - Ipswich Sparrow]
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Savannah_Sparrow.html Savannah Sparrow Species Account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [http://www.sdakotabirds.com/species/savannah_sparrow_info.htm Savannah Sparrow Information and Photos] - South Dakota Birds and Birding
* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i5420id.html Savannah Sparrow "Passerculus sandwichensis"] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
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