Cassin's Sparrow

Cassin's Sparrow
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae
Genus: Peucaea
Species: P. cassinii
Binomial name
Peucaea cassinii
(Woodhouse, 1852)

Cassin's Sparrow (Spanish: Zacatonero de Cassin), Peucaea cassinii, is a medium-sized sparrow.

This passerine bird's range is from western Nebraska to central Mexico.

Contents

Discovery

The sparrow was discovered by John Woodhouse in April of 1851 close by San Antonio, Texas. Woodhouse named the sparrow in honor of his friend, the American ornithologist John Cassin.[2]

Description

The sparrow has a long tail, gray-brown with white corners, and has dark marks on the back and flanks.[3] The species resembles Botteri's Sparrow because of its size and marks, but Boterri's Sparrow is a weaker shade of gray. The best way to tell the differences between the two is the song of Cassin's Sparrow. Both the males and females are the same shade of gray and are 5 to 6 inches, although males are bigger.[4]

The sparrow's song sounds like "titi-trrrrrrrrrrr, tyew tyew".[3] Only the males sing and the males are known for flying in the air and gliding down while singing which is called "skylarking". Males of the species are one of only a few sparrows known to skylark.[5] The book Heralds of Spring in Texas says that a clue that spring is coming in Midland County, Texas is "the high, sweet trills of Cassin's sparrows".[6] There is also a second flight song with chips which is only from adults when they are on edge. Chicks do a series of sips when they sing. The males sing from February to September[7] with the song of Cassin's Sparrow being its most identifiable trait.[8]

The bird's diet consists of insects and seeds.[9]

Habitat

Cassin's Sparrow can commonly be found in brushy grassland and is nomadic.[3] Between 1955 and 1989, there was a below average amount of this species although the number rises and falls each year.[10] The sparrow can be found in south-central states. It is known that the sparrow is rarely found in the northern part of its range which might be because of rainfall.[8]

The bird's nest is in grass and is a mixture of various weeds and grasses. The female lays from to 3 to 5 eggs.[11]

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2008). Aimophila cassinii. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 24 February 2009.
  2. ^ D. Rising, James (2010). A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of the Sparrows of the United States and Canada. A&C Black. p. 68. http://books.google.com/books?id=B8whurOkNJAC&pg=PA65&dq=cassin%27s+sparrow&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VzPuTuuWB4OnsALh_disCQ&ved=0CF8Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=cassin%27s%20sparrow&f=false. Retrieved December 18, 2011. 
  3. ^ a b c Kaufman, Kenn (2000). Birds of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 340. ISBN 0395964644. 
  4. ^ D. Rising, James (2010). A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of the Sparrows of the United States and Canada. A&C Black. p. 65. http://books.google.com/books?id=B8whurOkNJAC&pg=PA65&dq=cassin%27s+sparrow&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VzPuTuuWB4OnsALh_disCQ&ved=0CF8Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=cassin%27s%20sparrow&f=false. Retrieved December 18, 2011. 
  5. ^ GirlScientist (June 8, 2011). "Mystery bird: Cassin's sparrow, Peucaea cassinii". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jun/08/4. Retrieved December 17, 2011. 
  6. ^ H. Wauer, Roland; Ralph Scott (1999). Heralds of Spring in Texas. Texas A&M University Press. p. 215. http://books.google.com/books?id=gNop2jEFXNUC&pg=PA215&dq=cassin%27s+sparrow&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jcTsTo3rE6mEsAK2r5WyCQ&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=cassin%27s%20sparrow&f=false. Retrieved December 17, 2011. 
  7. ^ D. Rising, James (2010). A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of the Sparrows of the United States and Canada. A&C Black. p. 66. http://books.google.com/books?id=B8whurOkNJAC&pg=PA65&dq=cassin%27s+sparrow&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VzPuTuuWB4OnsALh_disCQ&ved=0CF8Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=cassin%27s%20sparrow&f=false. Retrieved December 18, 2011. 
  8. ^ a b Dunn, Jon; Jonathan K. Alderfer (2008). National Geographic field guide to the birds of western North America. National Geographic Books. p. 358. http://books.google.com/books?id=5kVen0Hqgx0C&pg=PA358&dq=cassin%27s+sparrow&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jTfuTqGTEaiIsQL-_M3pCQ&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAjgy#v=onepage&q=cassin%27s%20sparrow&f=false. 
  9. ^ "Cassin's sparrow Aimophila cassinii". US Geological Survey. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/infocenter/i5780id.html. Retrieved December 18, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Region 2 Sensitive Species Evaluation Form". US Forest Service. http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/projects/scp/evalrationale/evaluations/birds/cassinssparrow.pdf. Retrieved December 17, 2011. 
  11. ^ D. Rising, James (2010). A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of the Sparrows of the United States and Canada. A&C Black. p. 67. http://books.google.com/books?id=B8whurOkNJAC&pg=PA65&dq=cassin%27s+sparrow&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VzPuTuuWB4OnsALh_disCQ&ved=0CF8Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=cassin%27s%20sparrow&f=false. Retrieved December 18, 2011.