Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Sierra Madre sparrow

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Order
  
Passeriformes

Genus
  
Xenospiza Bangs, 1931

Higher classification
  
Xenospiza

Phylum
  
Chordata

Family
  
Emberizidae

Scientific name
  
Xenospiza baileyi

Rank
  
Species

Sierra Madre sparrow Sierra Madre sparrow photo Xenospiza baileyi G67531 ARKive

Similar
  
Black‑chested sparrow, Bridled sparrow, Cinnamon‑tailed sparrow, Vilcabamba brush finch, Oaxaca sparrow

Sierra madre sparrow calls llamados de xenozpiza baileyi


The Sierra Madre sparrow (Xenospiza baileyi), also known as Bailey's sparrow, is an endangered, range-restricted, enigmatic American sparrow. It is endemic to Mexico and is threatened with extinction through habitat loss.

Contents

Sierra Madre sparrow Species Gallery Neotropical Birds

Etymology

Sierra Madre sparrow Sierra Madre sparrow photo Xenospiza baileyi G69576 ARKive

The genus name Xenospiza is from the Ancient Greek xénos (ξένος), "a stranger", and spíza (σπίζα), "finch". The species name baileyi is a dedication to Alfred M. Bailey, who collected the 1931 specimen for Outram Bangs.

History and taxonomy

The Sierra Madre sparrow was first discovered by scientists in the Sierra de Bolaños near Bolaños, Jalisco, in 1889. The eight specimens shot then were not recognized as what they were, but believed to be aberrant Savannah or Mexican Plateau song sparrows, or hybrids. Only when another bird was taken near the city of Durango in 1931 was it recognized as a valid and distinct species.

Sierra Madre sparrow BirdQuest The Ultimate in Birding Tours

The southern population was discovered only in 1945, but has been observed since then in several areas around Distrito Federal, Morelos, and Estado de México. Between 1951, when 5 were taken near El Salto, and 2004, when a small population was rediscovered in the same area, the northern population from Jalisco and Durango states was not found and believed to have disappeared. Meanwhile, the proposed subspecies X. b. sierrae for the southern population was recognized to be based on individual variation and hence invalid; nonetheless, there is no gene flow between the populations and they constitute two separate ESUs.

Sierra Madre sparrow httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

It is the sole species in the genus Xenospiza; the genus is closely related to Ammodramus (and included in it by some authors), differing mainly in the longer, less pointed tail, and restriction to high altitude alpine grassland habitats.

Distribution and habitat

Sierra Madre sparrow Sierra Madre sparrow photo Xenospiza baileyi G69583 ARKive

The species is endemic to some mountain ranges in and near the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico. It is restricted to bunchgrass and marshland habitat in volcanic mountain ranges, at altitudes of 2,300–3,050 metres (7,550–10,010 ft); the lower part of the range is occupied by the northern, and the higher part by the southern population.

Habitat information for the northern population is scant, with pine, oak, and Arbutus (probably Arizona Madrone, A. arizonica) trees being mentioned. Better details are available for the more extensively studied southern population. The dominant bunchgrass species are Festuca amplissima, Peruvian feather grass (Stipa ichu), a muhly grass (Muhlenbergia affinis), and Muhlenbergia macroura. Small woods of Montezuma Pine (Pinus montezumae) and (probably) Lumholtz' Pine (P. lumholtzii) occur on elevated terrain.

Status and conservation

It is highly threatened due to clearance of its habitat for creating pastures. Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is Endangered. This is because the species occurs in less than 5000 km², and its range, available habitat, and population size are shrinking (BirdLife International 2004). Despite the rediscovery of the northern population, no more than a handful of individuals are known to remain, and further research to locate additional subpopulations is urgently needed. In any case, the species will probably be uplisted to Critically Endangered soon; of the 4 subpopulations known, only one (near La Cima) seems reasonably numerous.

References

Sierra Madre sparrow Wikipedia