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Brewer's Sparrow

Spizella breweri

Summary 6

Brewer's Sparrow (Spizella breweri) is a small, slim species of American sparrow in the family Emberizidae. This bird was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.

Range description 7

This species is found in the USA and Canada. The nominate subspecies breweri occurs in the arid intermountain west of the USA (stretching north into south-east Alberta and south-west Saskatchewan, Canada) (Rotenberry 1999, Byers et al. 1995). Further north it is replaced by the subspecies S. b. taverneri (Rotenberry 1999, Byers et al. 1995), which occurs into south-eastern Alaska.

Habitat and ecology 8

Habitat and Ecology

This species breeds on sagebrush flats and other open scrubby areas. It winters from just south of the breeding range in south-western USA to central Mexico (Rotenberry 1999, Byers et al. 1995), though the wintering grounds of S.b. taverneri remain largely unknown.

Systems
  • Terrestrial

Migration 9

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Winter from the Southwest through Baja and Central Mexico (Rotenberry et al. 1999); often in large, mixed flocks. Northernmost populations move farthest south; nonmigratory in some areas of the southwestern U.S. (Small 1974, Rotenberry et al. 1999).

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Frank Carey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/78674380@N00/3326849509
  2. (c) Flickr, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8379/8677475283_062d61aea4_o.jpg
  3. (c) Flickr, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8379/8677475211_7932d29c7f_o.jpg
  4. (c) Marv Elliott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Marv Elliott
  5. (c) Elvis Herrera Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Elvis Herrera Rodríguez
  6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spizella_breweri
  7. (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31269912
  8. (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31269914
  9. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28918836

More Info

Range Map

(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

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