Figure 294. Wintering birds account for three of California’s seven records of the Field Sparrow (see also Appendix H). This one was sketched on 11 March 1994 in Martinez, Contra Costa County (1994-014; Tim Manolis).

 

Figure 295. Three California Field Sparrow records involve apparent fall migrants, including this bird photographed on 1 November 1998 in Inyokern, Kern County (1998-205; Larry Sansone).

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIELD SPARROW Spizella pusilla (Wilson, 1810)

Accepted: 7 (58%)	Treated in Appendix H: yes
Not accepted: 5	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 0	Large color images: see Figures

This sparrow’s northern breeding limit extends from central Montana east to southern Maine and—at least formerly—southern New Brunswick. The southern limit stretches from northeastern Texas to extreme northern Florida, with a disjunct population in west-central Texas. Non-breeders are routinely encountered in the Maritime Provinces. The winter range extends from the southern Great Lakes and mid Atlantic regions through the Southeast, including Texas and southeastern New Mexico, and into northeastern Mexico. The western subspecies, S. p. arenacea, is slightly larger, paler, and grayer than nominate S. p. pusilla, and only arenacea regularly winters south into Mexico (AOU 1957). Records of vagrants extend north to southern Alberta, northern Saskatchewan (BJ 9:9), northern Ontario, and Newfoundland. The species has also reached Bermuda. West of the continental divide, this sparrow is known from only a smattering of records in Arizona, western Colorado, and northern Utah, in addition to California’s.

California’s first Field Sparrow was a male captured and photographed during the period 17 June–9 July 1969 on Southeast Farallon Island (Robert 1971a). The state’s other six records are evenly split between fall transients in Kern and Inyo Counties (5 October–4 November) and wintering birds on the coastal slope (25 November–12 April); see also Appendix H. California lacks a specimen, but photos (e.g., Figure 295) suggest that the records involve the more expected subspecies, arenacea.

Like some other species that are very rare in California (or that are yet to be recorded here), the Field Sparrow has a relatively short migration pathway oriented north–south through central and eastern North America. See the essay entitled “Birding in California, 1960–2007” (page 35).