Black-throated Sparrow

Amphispiza bilineataOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Codes: Common Name: BTSP Scientific Name: AMPBIL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179395

Breeding Location:

Bushes, shrubs, and thickets, Desert, Desert, semi

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Fairly common

Egg Color:

White or light blue

Number of Eggs:

2 - 4

Incubation Days:

12 - 15

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Forbs and dried grasses with lining of rootlets and mammal hair.

Migration:

Northern birds migrate

General

Black-throated Sparrow: Medium-sized sparrow with gray-brown upperparts, unstreaked, white underparts, and a black bib. Head has dark gray cap and sharply contrasting white eyebrow and cheek stripe. Long, round-tipped tail is edged with white. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has streaked upper breast and lacks black bib.

Range and Habitat

Black-throated Sparrow: Breeds from northeastern California, southwestern Wyoming, and southeastern Colorado southward. Spends winters north to the desert regions of the southern U.S. Preferred habitats include deserts and scrublands.

Breeding and Nesting

Black-throated Sparrow: Two to four white or light blue eggs are laid in a loosely built nest made of bark strips, grass, and stems, lined with wool, hair, or feathers, and built in a thorny bush. Incubation ranges from 12 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Black-throated Sparrow: Feeds on seeds during winter and insects during breeding season. Also consumes grass and herbs. Gravel is sometimes ingested to aid in digestion; forages on the ground.

Readily Eats

Safflower, Apple Slices, Suet, Millet, Peanut Kernels, Fruit

Vocalization

Black-throated Sparrow: Song is comprised of two clear notes followed by a buzzing trill.

Similar Species

Black-throated Sparrow: Sage and Five-striped sparrows have white throats.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Black-throated Sparrow

Black-throated Sparrow: Medium sparrow, gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, black bib. Head has dark gray cap and sharply contrasting white eyebrow and cheek stripe. Bill is black. Long, round-tipped tail is edged with white. Legs and feet are gray. Forages on the ground and in low vegetation.

● Song: "queat-queat", "toodle-oodle-oodle"

● Foraging & Feeding: Black-throated Sparrow: Feeds on seeds during winter and insects during breeding season. Also consumes grass and herbs. Gravel is sometimes ingested to aid in digestion; forages on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Black-throated Sparrow: Two to four white or light blue eggs are laid in a loosely built nest made of bark strips, grass, and stems, lined with wool, hair, or feathers, and built in a thorny bush. Incubation ranges from 12 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Black-throated Sparrow: Sage and Five-striped sparrows have white throats.

Flight Pattern

Short flights with rapidly beating wings.

Black-throated Sparrow Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Black-throated Sparrow: Breeds from northeastern California, southwestern Wyoming, and southeastern Colorado southward. Spends winters north to the desert regions of the southern U.S. Preferred habitats include deserts and scrublands.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationNorthern birds migrate

^Weight0.5 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

Eyebrow

Also called the supercilicum or superciliary it is the arch of feathers over each eye.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America