Rufous-winged Sparrow

Aimophila carpalisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

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.

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.

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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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.

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

Field Guide to Birds of North America