Rufous-crowned Sparrow
A species of Aimophila Sparrows Scientific name : Aimophila ruficeps Genus : Aimophila Sparrows
Rufous-crowned Sparrow, A species of Aimophila Sparrows
Botanical name: Aimophila ruficeps
Genus: Aimophila Sparrows
Content
Description General Info
Description
The rufous-crowned sparrow is a smallish sparrow at 5.25 inches (13.3 cm) in length, with males tending to be larger than females. It ranges from 15 to 23 g (0.53 to 0.81 oz) in weight and averages about 19 g (0.67 oz). It has a brown back with darker streaks and gray underparts. Its wings are short, rounded, and brown and lack wingbars, or a line of feathers of a contrasting color in the middle of the bird's wing. The sparrow's tail is long, brown, and rounded. The face and supercilium (the area above the eye) are gray with a brown or rufous streak extending from each eye and a thick black streak on each cheek. The crown ranges from rufous to chestnut, a feature which gives it its common name, and some subspecies have a gray streak running through the center of the crown. The bill is yellow and cone-shaped. The sparrow's throat is white with a dark stripe. Its legs and feet are pink-gray. Both sexes are similar in appearance, but the juvenile rufous-crowned sparrow has a brown crown and numerous streaks on its breast and flanks during the spring and autumn. The song is a short, fast, bubbling series of chip notes that can accelerate near the end, and the calls include a nasal chur and a thin tsi. When threatened or separated from its mate, the sparrow makes a dear-dear-dear call. 
Size
15 cm (6 in)
Colors
Brown
Black
Gray
White
Life Expectancy
3 years
Nest Placement
Ground
Clutch Size
2 - 5 eggs
Incubation Period
1 - 2 broods
Feeding Habits
Rufous-crowned Sparrow's diet shifts seasonally; insects like crickets, grasshoppers, and ground beetles are its spring-summer staples, while it eats stems, shoots, and seeds of plants like wild oats and chickweed in autumn-winter. It forages on or near the ground, often under cover, occasionally in trees/shrubs, and typically in family groups. Water intake varies; rufous-crowned Sparrow both drinks from pools and may obtain moisture from food.
Habitat
Rufous-crowned Sparrow's habitat includes scrublands, oak woodlands, and grassy uplands in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Favoring elevations of 3,000 to 6,000 feet, these birds thrive in areas with grasses, shrubs, and pinyon pines, often with rocky features. Their environment is maintained by periodic wildfires, which help preserve the open landscapes crucial for their well-being.
Nest Behavior
The female rufous-crowned Sparrow builds the nest and lines it with fine materials. Nest building timing, egg-laying patterns, and parental care details such as incubation and feeding regimens are typical of ground-nesting sparrows, requiring further specific research.
Nest Characteristics
Rufous-crowned Sparrow' nest is a camouflaged, loose cup constructed from dried grasses, rootlets, twigs, or bark strips, lined with fine grasses and animal hair. It measures approximately 4 inches in width, 2.5 inches in height, and is placed on the ground or near a shrub's base.
Dite type
Granivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Bird Feeder Type
Platform
Sounds
Song
Recording location: United States
Call
Recording location: United States
Behavior
Rufous-crowned Sparrow exhibit cautious tendencies, preferring to scurry on the ground amid vegetation rather than take flight when threatened. These birds are mostly sedentary, maintaining year-long territories and typically avoiding formation of large winter flocks. Males engage in distinctive posturing, such as puffing feathers and tail-lifting, for territorial defense. Rufous-crowned Sparrow also employ deceptive 'broken wing' tactics to divert predators from their nests and are known to be aggressive towards intruders, including multiple bird species. They demonstrate loyalty to their mates, with indications of monogamous pairings that could last beyond the breeding season.
Distribution Area
This bird is found in the southwestern United States and Mexico from sea level up to 9,800 feet (3,000 m), though it tends to be found between 3,000 and 6,000 feet (910 and 1,830 m). It lives in California, southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, Texas, and central Oklahoma south along Baja California and in western Mexico to southern Puebla and Oaxaca. In the midwestern United States, the sparrow is found as far east as a small part of western Arkansas, and also in a small region of northeastern Kansas, its most northeastern habitat. The range of this species is discontinuous and is made up of many small, isolated populations. The rufous-crowned sparrow is a non-migratory species, though the mountain subspecies are known to descend to lower elevations during severe winters. Male sparrows maintain and defend their territories throughout the year. This sparrow is found in open oak woodlands and dry uplands with grassy vegetation and bushes. It is often found near rocky outcroppings. The species is also known from coastal scrublands and chaparral areas. The rufous-crowned sparrow thrives in open areas cleared by burning.
Species Status
The rufous-crowned sparrow is treated as a species of least concern, or not threatened with extinction, by BirdLife International due to its large geographical range of about 463,323 sq mi (1,200,000 km), estimated population of 2.4 million individuals, and lack of a 30% population decline over the last ten years. In years without sufficient rains, many birds fail to breed and those that do produce fewer offspring. Some of the local populations of this bird are threatened and declining in number. The island subspecies and populations have declined in some cases: A. r. sanctorum of the Todos Santos Islands is believed to be extinct, and the populations on Santa Catalina Island and Baja California's Islas de San Martin have not been observed since the early 1900s. Populations of the species in southern California are also becoming more restricted in range because of urbanization and agricultural development in the region. Additionally, the sparrow is known to have been poisoned by the rodenticide warfarin, though more research is needed to determine the effects of pesticides on the rufous-crowned sparrow.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
New world sparrows Genus
Aimophila Sparrows Species
Rufous-crowned Sparrow 
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