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Rufous-winged Sparrow

Aimophila carpalisOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)
Codes: Common Name: RWSP Scientific Name: AIMCAR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179375
Least Concern
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Rufous-winged Sparrow Breeding Male
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Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

Overview

Rufous-winged Sparrow: Medium sparrow, gray-brown upperparts finely streaked with black; underparts are white. Pale gray head has rufous crown divided by gray median stripe, red-brown eye-line, and black moustache stripe. Wings are brown with rufous shoulder patches and two white bars.


Range and Habitat

Rufous-winged Sparrow: Resident in south-central Arizona. Prefers grasslands mixed with thorn bushes, mesquite trees, or cholla patches.

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Topo Map: Perching-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chip-chip-chip", "sweet-sweet-sweet", "seep", "tsit"

Interesting Facts

 The Rufous-winged Sparrow is shy, elusive, and difficult to see except when the male is singing from exposed perches.

 This species is considered at-risk due to its limited geographic range. Within this range its grassland and shrubland habitat has been rapidly lost to development and agriculture.

 This species was first discovered in 1872, near old Fort Lowell, Tucson, where it was described as "very common". After 1886, verified records were exceedingly rare. It was considered extinct in Arizona due to overgrazing. It was rediscovered in 1936, the first record in over fifty years.

 A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a "crew", "flutter", "meinie", "quarrel", and "ubiquity" of sparrows.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Irina Rud-Volga

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Range Map for Rufous-winged Sparrow

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Family Buntings, Finches, Sparrows (Emberizidae)_blue
Species Aimophila carpalis
Length5.75 Inches
Wingspan8.25 Inches

Rufous-winged Sparrow

Rufous-winged Sparrow: Medium sparrow, gray-brown upperparts finely streaked with black; underparts are white. Pale gray head has rufous crown divided by gray median stripe, red-brown eye-line, and black moustache stripe. Wings are brown with rufous shoulder patches and two white bars.

● Song: "chip-chip-chip", "sweet-sweet-sweet", "seep", "tsit"

● Foraging & Feeding: Rufous-winged Sparrow: Eats insects and seeds. Forages by hopping on the ground; occasionally hawks insects from the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Rufous-winged Sparrow: Two to five pale blue eggs are laid in a cup nest made of forbs, grass, twigs, and bark, lined with finer materials, and built in a cactus or thorny bush. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Rufous-winged Sparrow: Rufous-crowned Sparrow has rufous crown, single moustache stripe, gray-brown upperparts with rufous streaks, distinct white eye-ring, and lacks rufous shoulder patch.

Flight Pattern

Short flights on rapidly beating wings alternating with brief periods of wings pulled to sides.
Rufous-winged Sparrow Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Rufous-winged Sparrow: Resident in south-central Arizona. Prefers grasslands mixed with thorn bushes, mesquite trees, or cholla patches.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.5 Ounces
Perching-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
CrownX
The crown is the top part of the birds head.
ShoulderX
The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the “first row” of feathers on the birds wing. They are also called marginal coverts and lesser secondary coverts.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX