Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata)

28 December 2014: On our first brief visit to Amistad National Recreation Area (ANRA) located immediately north of Del Río, Texas, Val Verde County, we encountered from a distance the distinctive presence of the Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata). We walked the trail nearest to the park headquarters which is located off of State Highway 90. The water level nearly a year ago at the ANRA was quite low due to the lack of rain and we were able to access ground that would have otherwise in wetter times been under water. Of course all that has since changed due to the historic rainfall that arrived in mid-2015, but that’s a different story. The photographs we present in this observation are badly focused and the Black-throated Sparrow was simply too far to get any better focus when the images are enlarged for presentation at this site. Nonetheless, they are diagnostic quality images and the key field marks for the species are readily recognizable. We will surely have a future encounter or two with Black-throated Sparrow and we will acquire better pics of it then. The thumbnail sketch at the Audubon site for Black-throated Sparrow has this to say about the species: “A sharply marked little bird of the arid zones. Black-throated Sparrows are very common in parts of the Southwest, even in some relatively barren flats of creosote bush where few other birds occur; loose winter flocks feed on the ground in open areas, making little tinkling callnotes. In spring, males perch atop low bushes to sing their metallic notes and trills.” According to the Audubon site, Black-throated Sparrow has “declined in some areas with increasing development in desert areas; unlike some desert birds, it does not adapt well to suburbs. In the proper habitat, it is still widespread and common.” Black-throated Sparrow occurs in Mexico and the United States.

The excellent range map provided by NatureServe for this bird indicates that it is not a migrating bird for the most part though some large areas of the western half of the United States host it for breeding purposes and in this respect it is found in drier scattered areas of the West Coast states including Washington, Oregon, and California, though California’s entire southernmost region is a permanent home for Black-throated Sparrow wherein this region constitutes its most northwestern permanent range. Other states that host Black-throated Sparrow in its breeding capacity only include Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and the far western area of Oklahoma’s Panhandle area bordering with New Mexico, Colorado and Texas. But several US states also host Black-throated Sparrow on a permanent basis including Texas which easily enjoys the largest range in the US for this North American sparrow. The entire length of the Río Bravo del Norte or the Río Grande as it’s called in the US, that part of this great river that favors Texas at least, hosts Black-throated Sparrow, from the nearly sea level delta of the Rio Grande Valley to the high desert plains and mountains of El Paso. Its permanent range extends into New Mexico, Arizona, and southern and southeastern California as indicated. In Mexico, on the other hand, the permanent range for Black-throated Sparrow is far more extensive. The following Mexican states host Black-throated Sparrow (listed alphabetically) in its permanent range: Aguascalientes, Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Distrito Federal, Durango, Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. This means that fifteen of Mexico’s thirty-one states plus the Federal District comprise in part or whole the permanent range for this sparrow. Generally speaking Black-throated Sparrow is found in the northern half of the nation. In the US, it’s the southwestern states and the west generally that are in some way home for Black-throated Sparrow. Because it has a wide-ranging North American presence, Black-throated Sparrow may easily be considered an authentic resident of the Western Hemisphere. Amistad National Recreation Area is administered by the National Park Service, US Department of the Interior.

Sources:

“Black-throated Sparrow,” All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, range map, description, photographs, resource links, accessed 11.27.15, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-throated_Sparrow/id

“Black-throated Sparrow,” Audubon, range map, photographs, description, resource links, accessed 11.27.15, https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/black-throated-sparrow

“Black-throated Sparrow,” South Dakota Birds and Birding, provides an excellent NatureServe range map for this sparrow species, accessed 11.27.15, http://sdakotabirds.com/species/maps/black_throated_sparrow_map.htm