Rufous-winged Sparrow
Peucaea carpalis
Subtly marked sparrow with a poor name; "rufous wing" is restricted to a tiny, barely visible patch on the shoulder. Gray head and neck with peaked rufous crown and rufous eyeline. Stout pink bill. Sides are buff and unstreaked on adults. Back and wings are also buffy with fine markings. Paler throat is edged with thin dark lines. Primarily a Mexican species with very limited range in the U.S.; found in pairs or small flocks in brushy grasslands. Variable song usually composed of a few clear tinkling notes and trills.
Identification
The back is brown with darker streaks, while the belly is pale gray. The wings and crown are rust-colored. This sparrow has a conical, yellow-based bill and a long brown tail.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Peucaea carpalis
- Authority
- Coues, 1873
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
- Genus
- Peucaea
Range and habitat
Peucaea carpalis is a year-round resident from south-central Arizona and Guadalupe Canyon, New Mexico, south to northern Sinaloa, Mexico.<p>The rufous-winged sparrow inhabits desert grasslands with scattered mesquite or cholla. It also occurs in washes with sandy bottoms and vegetated slopes, brushy irrigation ditches, and creeks bordered by broad-leaved trees, mesquite, grasses, and forbs.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Australasian Grass-Owl
Tyto longimembris
Reclusive and rarely seen owl of cane fields, meadows, and other areas with tall grassy cover. Tan-brown overall with black, white, and orange mottling on the wings. Flies low over grassy areas, primarily during dawn and dusk, often with long legs dangling. Heart-shaped facial disk, very similar to Barn Owl and Masked Owls. Nests in dense fields; fluffy owlets often exposed during harvesting season in agricultural areas.
Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Rusty edges to feathers and pale eyebrow in winter contrast with blackish feather bases. Breeding males are glossy black. Shorter tail than Common Grackle. Thinner bill than Red-winged Blackbird. Found in wooded swamps. Often in flocks; frequently mixes with Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackle in winter. Look for flocks perched at tops of trees bordering marshes and listen for their calls to help pick them out from large flocks of blackbirds.
Burmese Collared-Dove
Streptopelia xanthocycla
Large, pale dove of dry, open country and cultivation in the lowlands. Pale gray head, darker on the back, pinkish-gray chest, black crescent on the nape, fairly long tail with white corners and a distinctive pale yellow eye-ring. Typically seen in pairs or small loose groups. Most similar to female Red Collared-Dove but noticeably larger and longer-tailed. Call is a cooing “woop-WOOO!-woop”.
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