Botteri's Sparrow

Peucaea botterii

Explore this bird

Identification

Field notes

15 cm (6") Uncommon and local. Restricted range; southeastern Arizona, southern tip of Texas. Desert, grasslands.

Plain gray or brown sparrow. Upperparts streaked with black, brown or gray. Underparts are unstreaked. Throat and belly white. Buffy breast and sides. Long plain brown tail. Closely resembles Cassin's Sparrow but song is quite different. Also Cassin's has white at tip of outer tail feathers which is most notable in flight.

Song: 2-4 high notes then a short trill.

Details in the field

Photo gallery

4 photos

Only a proper birder can get excited about a little brown job like this.

Credit: Alastair Rae

Credit: Caleb Putnam

Credit: Amy McAndrews

Credit: Mark Watson

Watch and learn

Videos

2 videos

Botteri's Sparrow, Florida Wash, AZ, May 12, 2008

Credit: Caleb Putnam

Botteri's Sparrow singing

Credit: Arlene Ripley

Bird Advisor Identification rules 1 variant 1 rule

These are the observation paths the Bird Advisor can use to identify this species. Each rule is an alternative match.

Botteri's Sparrow

1 rule

Rule 1 15 criteria confidence 1

What SIZE was the TAIL ?: Medium · Long · Very Long · Unknown
What SHAPE was the TAIL ?: Rounded at the end · Unknown
What colour TAIL PATTERN was there if any ?: None · Unknown
What colour PATTERN if any was on the BACK ?: Streaked, mottled, spotted, or barred · Unknown
What colour PATTERN if any was shown on the BREAST ?: Uniform color · Unknown
What colour was the BREAST ?: White, or pale (grayish-white) · Orange, buff (orange-yellow), or tan · Rufous (dull-red or rust-colored) · Brown, or chestnut (reddish-brown) · Gray, or blue-gray · Unknown
What colour was the THROAT ?: White, or pale (grayish-white) · Unknown
What SHAPE was the BILL ?: Conical and slender · Conical and thick · Unknown
What LENGTH was the BILL ?: Very short · Short · Medium · Unknown
What colour was the TOP of HEAD ?: Brown, or chestnut (reddish-brown) · Gray, or blue-gray · Unknown
What was the predominant colour of the HEAD ?: Yellow · Orange, buff (orange-yellow), or tan · Brown, or chestnut (reddish-brown) · Gray, or blue-gray · Unknown
How BIG was the bird ?: Smaller than a sparrow · Sparrow-sized
What TYPE of bird was seen ?: Sparrow-like
What type of environment was the bird seen in?: Open area: field, prairie, meadow, farmland, tundra · Desert, arid grassland, shrubs, cactus, mesquite · Thickets or shrubs
WHERE was the bird seen ?: Southwestern United States

result:170-botteri-s-sparrow:1:1 Source: 170 Botteri's Sparrow, row 1