General

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. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is pale brown with dark streaks and pink-gray bill.

Range and Habitat

Botteri's Sparrow: Breeds in extreme southeastern Arizona and southern Texas. Resident throughout much of Mexico; northernmost populations of these birds migrate to the southern portion of their range in the winter. Preferred habitats include open arid country such as grasslands, savannas, and desert-scrub.

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and Feeding

Botteri's Sparrow: Eats insects and seeds; forages on the ground.

Vocalization

Botteri's Sparrow: Song is high, abrasive series of hesitant chips, followed by a bouncing-ball trill. Call is a thin "chick."

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.