Botteri's Sparrow

Aimophila botteriiOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Codes: Common Name: BOSP Scientific Name: AIMBOT ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179390

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Botteri's Sparrow Breeding Male Portrait

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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.

Botteri's Sparrow

Botteri's Sparrow: Medium-sized sparrow with brown-streaked, gray upperparts and pale gray underparts. Bill is gray. Wings are tinged rust-brown. Tail is gray-brown, long, and round-tipped. Short flights with rapidly beating wing strokes alternating with wings pulled briefly to sides.

● Song: "chick"

● Foraging & Feeding: Botteri's Sparrow: Eats insects and seeds; forages on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Botteri's Sparrow: Two to five pale blue eggs are laid in a nest made of grass and rootlets, lined with finer materials, and built on the ground or in a grassy tussock, usually sheltered by tall grass or a shrub. Incubation ranges from 12 to14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Botteri's Sparrow: Cassin's Sparrow has white tips on outer tail feathers. Grasshopper Sparrow is chunkier with buff underparts and buff streaks on upperparts.

Flight Pattern

Short flights on rapidly beating wings alternating with brief periods of wings pulled to sides.

Botteri's Sparrow Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Botteri's Sparrow: Breeds in southeastern Arizona and southern Texas. Spends winters south of U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include open arid country such as grasslands, savannas, and desert-scrub.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationYes but uncommon

^MigrationSome migrate

^Weight0.7 Ounces

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