Rufous-winged Sparrow 3241317 203474100 2008-04-05T07:21:53Z Casliber 1381068 headings as per other bird articles {{Taxobox | name = Rufous-winged Sparrow | status = LC | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[bird|Aves]] | ordo = [[passerine|Passeriformes]] | familia = [[American sparrow|Emberizidae]] | genus = ''[[Aimophila]]'' | species = '''''A. carpalis''''' | binomial = ''Aimophila carpalis'' | binomial_authority = ([[Elliott Coues|Coues]], 1873) }} The '''Rufous-winged Sparrow''', ''Aimophila carpalis,'' is a slender [[sparrow]] with a gray face and a brown streak which extends behind the eyes. ==Description== The back is brown with darker streaks, while the belly is pale gray. The wings and crown are rust colored. The sparrow has a yellow, conical bill, and a long, brown tail. ==Distribution and habitat== ''A. carpalis'' is a year-round resident from south-central [[Arizona]] south into [[Mexico]]. The Rufous-winged sparrow inhabits desert [[grassland]]s scattered with thorn bushes, bunch grasses, [[mesquite]], or [[cholla]]. It also occurs in [[Riparian|washes]] with sandy bottoms and vegetated slopes, brushy irrigation ditches, and creeks bordered by broad-leaved trees, mesquite, grasses, and weeds. The sparrow prefers grassy areas with scattered shrubs that are thorny and dense. ==Diet== During the breeding season, A. carpalis feeds on a variety of insects caught on the wing or gleaned off plant surfaces. At other times, the bird eats grass and weed seeds. ==Breeding== A. carpalis breeds during the [[monsoon]] months of July and August. The nest is built low to the ground in the edges of bushes such as hackberry, [[palo verde]], cholla cacti, or mesquite. The average clutch size is four, and the sparrow can have two broods per year. ==Status== This species is listed as a migratory bird under the [[Migratory Bird Treaty Act]]. ==History in Pima County, Arizona== The Rufous-Winged Sparrow in [[Pima County, Arizona|Pima County]]: This species was first discovered in [[1872]], near old Fort Lowell, [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]], where it was described as "very common". In [[1881]], the sparrow was found: :"sparingly about [[Tucson]] and Camp Lowell. It inhabited the mesquite thickets, keeping closely hidden in the bunches of '' 'sacaton' grass,'' from which, when flushed, it flew into the branches above." After [[1886]], verified species records were exceedingly rare. The species was considered extinct in Arizona due to overgrazing. The rufous-winged sparrow was rediscovered in [[1936]], the first record in over fifty years. The sparrow now has records throughout much of eastern Pima County; in Canoa Ranch, [[Madera Canyon]], [[Santa Rita Mountains|Santa Rita]] and [[Santa Catalina Mountains]], and in areas around Tucson. Loss of habitat as a result of overgrazing and urban development is believed to have had the greatest effect on populations. ==References== * {{IUCN2006|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2004|id=53583|title=Aimophila carpalis|downloaded=10 May 2006}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern ==Further reading== <div class="reflist4" style="height: 220px; overflow: auto; padding: 3px" > ===Book=== * Lowther, P. E., K. D. Groschupf, and S. M. Russell. 1999. ''Rufous-winged Sparrow (Aimophila carpalis)''. In ''The Birds of North America'', No. 422 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. ===Thesis=== * Groschupf KD. Ph.D. (1983). ''COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE VOCALIZATIONS AND SINGING BEHAVIOR OF FOUR AIMOPHILA SPARROWS''. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, United States -- Virginia. * Ohmart RD. Ph.D. (1969). ''PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ETHOLOGICAL ADAPTIONS OF THE RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROW (AIMOPHILA CARPALIS) TO A DESERT ENVIRONMENT''. The University of Arizona, United States -- Arizona. ===Articles=== * Austin GT & Ricklefs RE. (1977). ''Growth and Development of the Rufous-Winged Sparrow Aimophila-Carpalis''. Condor. vol '''79''', no 1. p. 37-50. * Borror DJ. (1971). ''Songs of Aimophila Sparrows Occurring in the USA''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''83''', no 2. p. 132-151. * Deviche P, McGraw K & Greiner EC. (2005). ''Interspecific differences in hematozoan infection in sonoran desert Aimophila sparrows''. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. vol '''41''', no 3. p. 532-541. * Deviche P & Small T. (2006). ''Non-photic environmental control of post-breeding reproductive regression and molt in a Sonoran desert passerine, the Rufous-winged Sparrow''. Journal of Ornithology. vol '''147''', no 5. p. 55-55. * Deviche P, Small T, Sharp P & Tsutsui K. (2006). ''Control of luteinizing hormone and testosterone secretion in a flexibly breeding male passerine, the Rufous-winged Sparrow, Aimophila carpalis''. General and Comparative Endocrinology. vol '''149''', no 3. p. 226-235. * Deviche P, Small TW & Sharp P. (2005). ''Food composition modulates photoinduced IH secretion in a flexibly breeding passerine''. Hormones & Behavior. vol '''48''', no 1. * Small T, Deviche P, Sharp PJ, Bentley GE, Millar RP & Tsutsui K. (2004). ''Supplementary information, not photoperiod, regulates plasma luteinizing hormone in male rufous winged sparrows, Aimophila carpalis''. Integrative and Comparative Biology. vol '''44''', no 6. p. 748-748. * Small TW & Deviche P. (2001). ''Environmental control of seasonal reproduction in a temporally variable breeder, the rufous-winged sparrow, Aimophila carpalis''. Hormones & Behavior. vol '''39''', no 4. * Small TW, Deviche P & Sharp P. (2003). ''Conspecific and heterospecific song exposure accelerates photoinduced reproductive development in the flexibly breeding Rufous-winged Sparrow, Aimophila carpalis''. Integrative and Comparative Biology. vol '''43''', no 6. p. 927-927. * Small TW, Deviche P, Sharp PJ, Bentley GE, Millar RP & Tsutsui K. (2005). ''The rapid reproductive response of male rufous-winged sparrows, aimophila carpalis, to increased precipitation: A role for termites?''. Hormones and Behavior. vol '''48''', no 1. p. 128-128. * Strand CR, Small TW & Deviche P. (2004). ''Singing in the rain: Growth of the song control system in free-ranging adult male Rufous-winged sparrows, Aimophila carpalis''. Integrative and Comparative Biology. vol '''44''', no 6. p. 750-750. * Zerba E & Baptista LF. (1980). ''Courtship Feeding in Some Emberizine Finches''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''92''', no 2. p. 245-246. </div> [[Category:Aimophila]] [[Category:Birds of the United States]] [[Category:Birds of Mexico]] {{Emberizidae-stub}}