Five-striped Sparrow

Overview

The five-striped sparrow (Amphispizopsis quinquestriata) is a medium-sized member of the family Passerellidae. It is found primarily in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico and in south-central Arizona, where it acts as a year-round resident.

Identification

• Approximately 15 cm long with a mostly grayish head that exhibits a purple tinge.
• Features a round black patch on the slate-gray breast, contrasting with a white belly.
• Displays three prominent white stripes on the head (supercilia, under ear coverts, and chin/throat) separated by black stripes.
• Dark brown iris with a black maxilla, bluish mandible, and light brown to brownish legs.

Habitat

The species occupies rocky hillsides and canyon walls with dense low scrubby vegetation in Arizona, while in Mexico it also inhabits steep hillsides in tropical deciduous forest and some flatter areas. Its distribution is disjunct, spanning from Pima and Santa Cruz counties in Arizona south to central Sinaloa and western Durango, with a southern subspecies in Zacatecas and Jalisco.

Diet

Feeds primarily on moth and butterfly caterpillars, supplemented by adult insects and seeds. It forages on the ground and in low vegetation by pecking, and rarely scratches in leaf litter or takes insects in mid-air. Foraging behaviour shifts from solitary or paired in the breeding season to flocks of up to 40 individuals in winter.

Did you know?

Despite its unassuming appearance, the male's song is described as staccato, unmelodious, and brief, typically consisting of an introductory note and only two note complexes, although it can range up to seven.