- Peucaea botterii
Aimophila botterii
Identification
13·5–15 cm (5¼-6 in)
- Buff grey breast and sides
- Streaked blackish grey or brownish grey upperparts
- Rust-brown wings
- Long, rounded, grey-brown tail
- Dark iris
- Grey bill
- Pale red legs and feet
Sexes alike
Similar Species
This rather drab sparrow closely resembles the Cassin's Sparrow, but has a different song and does not skylark while singing like Cassin's. Also note the plain flanks lacking any streaking.
Distribution
North and Central America:
North America: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas
Central America: Mexico, Baja California, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a polytypic species consisting of nine subspecies[1]:
- P. b. arizonae: South-eastern Arizona to northern Mexico (southern Sonora and northern Durango)
- P. b. texana: Extreme southern Texas and north-eastern Mexico (eastern Tamaulipas)
- P. b. mexicana: Central highlands of Mexico
- P. b. goldmani: Coastal western Mexico (Sinaloa to Nayarit)
- P. b. botterii: Southern highlands of Mexico (southern Puebla to Oaxaca and western Chiapas)
- P. b. petenica: Coastal south-eastern Mexico (Veracruz) to Belize, Guatemala and Honduras
- P. b. vantynei: Highlands of central Guatemala
- P. b. spadiconigrescens: Lowland pine savanna of northern Honduras and north-eastern Nicaragua
- P. b. vulcanica: Highlands of Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica
Was formerly placed in genus Aimophila.
Habitat
Dry dense grasslands with tall grasses, savanna and scrub.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists of insects and seeds with a variety of insects, such as grasshoppers and stick insects, being fed to their young.
Breeding
Monogomous. They nest on the ground. They usually only raise a single brood.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 51st supplement to the AOU checklist of North American birds
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved September 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Botteri's Sparrow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Botteri%27s_Sparrow
External Links
Search the Gallery using the scientific name:
Search the Gallery using the common name:
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