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Home/Species/ Rufous-winged Sparrow

Peucaea carpalis

(Coues, 1873)

Rufous-winged Sparrow

G4Apparently Secure Found in 11 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103171
Element CodeABPBX91080
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyPasserellidae
GenusPeucaea
Synonyms
Aimophila carpalis(Coues, 1873)
Other Common Names
Bruant à épaulettes (FR) Zacatonero Ala Rufa (ES)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Formerly (e.g., AOU 1983, 1998) placed in the genus Aimophila, transferred to Peucaea by AOU (2010).
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-12-04
Change Date1996-12-04
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
RESIDENT: from south-central Arizona (north to Coolidge-Tuscon area) south through central and southeastern Sonora to central Sinaloa (AOU 1983, Kaufman and Bowers 1992).
Threat Impact Comments
Threats include overgrazing of desert grassland, which caused declines in Arizona in the late 1800s; has increased in Arizona with grassland recovery since then (Kaufman and Bowers 1992).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Open flat grassy areas with scattered thorn bush, mixed bunch-grass, mesquite or cholla (Subtropical Zone) (AOU 1983). Usually nests in outer part of thorny bush or cactus about 1.5-3 m above ground (Terres 1980), often in desert hackberry in Arizona (Kaufman and Bowers 1992).

Ecology

May been seen in association with black-throated, chipping, and Brewer's sparrows (Terres 1980). In fall and winter usually seen in small family flocks. Territories near Tucson, Arizona, ranged from 0.5-1.8 hectares; annual means ranged from 0.7-1.2 hectares (Lowther et al. 1999).

Reproduction

Usually nests just after heavy spring or (more often) late summer rains; may not nest every year. Clutch size 2-5 (usually 4). Incubation 12 days, by female. Nestlings altricial and downy. Both parents tend young, which fledge in 8-9 days. Up to 3 broods in some years.
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceous
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
ArizonaS4Yes
Roadless Areas (11)
Arizona (10)
AreaForestAcres
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Middle Romero WSRCoronado National Forest60
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Upper Romero WsrCoronado National Forest150
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
References (21)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). Chesser, R.T., R.C. Banks, F.K. Barker, C. Cicero, J.L. Dunn, A.W. Kratter, I.J. Lovette, P.C. Rasmussen, J.V. Remsen, Jr., J.D. Rising, D.F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2010. Fifty-first supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 127(3):726-744.
  4. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  5. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  6. Carter, M., C. Hunter, D. Pashley, and D. Petit. 1998. The Watch List. Bird Conservation, Summer 1998:10.
  7. Carter, M., G. Fenwick, C. Hunter, D. Pashley, D. Petit, J. Price, and J. Trapp. 1996. Watchlist 1996: For the future. Field Notes 50(3):238-240.
  8. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  9. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  10. Kaufman, K., and R. Bowers. 1992. Rain bird. Birder's World, October 1992, pp. 24-27.
  11. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  12. Lowther, P. E., K. D. Groshcupf, and S. M. Russell. 1999. Rufous-winged Sparrow (AIMOPHILA CARPALIS). No. 422 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 20pp.
  13. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  14. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  15. Phillips, A., J. Marshall, and G. Monson. 1964. The birds of Arizona. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
  16. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  17. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  18. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  19. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  20. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  21. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.