Bird name:

Rufous-winged Sparrow

Aimophila carpalis

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Code 4

RWSP

Code 6

AIMCAR

ITIS

179375

Breeding Location:

Grassland with scattered trees, Desert, semi

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Fairly common

Egg Color:

Pale blue

Number of Eggs:

2 - 5

Incubation Days:

12 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lined with finer materials., Forbs, grass, twigs, and bark.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Rufous-winged Sparrow: Medium-sized sparrow with 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. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is paler with less distinct face markings, pale brown wing-bars, and streaks on breast and sides.

Range and Habitat

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

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and Feeding

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

Readily Eats

Sunflower Seed, Commercial Mixed Bird Seed

Vocalization

Rufous-winged Sparrow: Song is a rapid jumbled series of "chip" notes, "chip-chip-chip", followed by an accelerating trill, "sweet-sweet-sweet." Call is a high, abrasive "seep" or high, thin "tsit."

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.

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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.

Underparts

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

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

Shoulder

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 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