Stripe-headed Sparrow

Overview

The stripe-headed sparrow (Peucaea ruficauda) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, classified as the New World sparrows. It is found across a range from Mexico to Costa Rica and is currently assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• A medium to large sparrow measuring 15 to 19.5 cm in length, with sexes sharing identical plumage.
• Features a blackish brown crown with a central white stripe, separated from a blackish brown eye triangle by a wide white supercilium.
• Displays rufous-brown upperparts with blackish streaks, a rufous tail, and white throat contrasting with pale gray breast.
• Possesses a deep brownish red iris, a blackish maxilla, and pale pinkish legs.

Habitat

Inhabits generally open and often dry landscapes, including dry grasslands with scattered leguminous trees, rocky hillsides, brushy road edges, and deciduous forest in tropical and lower subtropical zones. Its distribution is disjunct, ranging from sea level to 1,500 m, though it reaches only 800 m in Costa Rica. It is found across the Pacific slope of Mexico, southern Mexico, eastern Guatemala, and parts of Central America including El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Diet

Feeds on seeds, insects, spiders, and fruits, foraging mostly on the ground or near it in vegetation. It usually forms small groups of up to seven individuals but may also gather in larger flocks.

Did you know?

This species is a cooperative breeder, with up to seven birds recorded attending a single nest. The nest is a deep cup constructed from grass and twigs, lined with finer grasses and hair, typically placed in a dense spiny bush.