Target folder // BKTSPA
Black-throated Sparrow
Amphispiza bilineata · Passerellidae (New World sparrows)
The sharpest-dressed bird in the open desert. Adults are easy: black bib, two white face stripes. Juveniles without the bib are the ones to work on.
ID Features
- Small sparrow, about 5 to 6 inches long.
- Black chin, throat, and upper breast, set off by a bold white eyebrow and a white whisker stripe.
- Plain gray-brown back and whitish underparts.
- Dark tail with narrow white edges and corners.
- Juveniles lack the black bib. They have a white throat and a streaked chest.
Signals
- songTwo clear notes followed by a buzzy trill. Listen (xeno-canto XC484906)
More recordings: xeno-canto · Macaulay Library
Where and When
- Clark County, NV
- Spring through fall, rare in winterOpen desert scrub, including creosote bush and saltbush flats and Joshua tree and yucca stands.Source: Desert National Wildlife Refuge bird list (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, May 2018): uncommon in spring, summer, and fall, rare in winter, nests locally. Status from one refuge's list, not survey data. For week-by-week detail, see eBird's Clark County bar chart.