Five-striped Sparrow

A few years ago, I posted a photo of this species on our blog. I ran into these and don’t know why I did not include them because they really show off features. This sparrow barely makes it into the United States and has only been found in Arizona, mostly south of Tucson. It mostly occurs in Western Mexico.

Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis)

I first saw this small sparrow in Ecuador before I knew I was a birder. It caught my eye and I fell in love with them. This photo was taken in near-zero temperature in the high Andes Mountains of Columbia, in February 2022. This explains why it is puffed up into a sphere. I didn’t notice the leg band on the left leg until we returned home and I cropped the photo.

Savannah Sparrow

A small bird with a yellow eyebrow. These are common on the Central California coast where they can be found in grass, sedge marshes, and reedy areas. I photographed this one on a lupine plant in Kodiak Island, Alaska.

Grasshopper Sparrow

A small grassland bird that is more often heard than seen. Its song sounds like the buzz of an insect. They are usually found in tall grasses, where they nest and feed on insects and seeds. This one obliged me by landing close by on a barbwire fence which they sometimes do. Note the very long toenails.

House Sparrows

I don’t have many paintings of this bird and had to go back a few years to find this one. These are not my favorite bird, but it is fun to watch them in the restaurant eating area behind my gallery in Los Altos.

House Sparrows and Chair 12” x 12” watercolor

House Sparrows and Chair 12” x 12” watercolor

The Grasshopper Sparrow

Grasshopper Sparrow 1.JPG

This small bird is very difficult to see. In breeding season it can be heard, but barely. The pitch of its song is very high and has an insect-like buzz to it. If it’s a windy day, they are difficult to hear.

Five-striped Sparrow Sketch

May 14  - Box Canyon Arizona

May 14 - Box Canyon Arizona

These were not shy and even came out and posed for us. I loved that there were a pair foraging together, and I was also taken by the beautiful coloration, with a gray head grading into a brown body.

The Five-striped Sparrow

Floy and I accompanied Ryan Phillips on a birding expedition into Southeastern Arizona. This area is known for some of the most unusual birds in the United States. The reason for these unique birds is that some of the mountains of Southern Arizona are contiguous with mountain ranges in Mexico. This enables some Neotropical birds to “hop” over the border and make themselves at home in Arizona.

The Five-striped Sparrow is a case in point because its distribution is mainly in Mexico over a strip that is about 450 miles long and less than 100 miles wide and extends from a few miles into Arizona and down the western mountain range of Mexico. This species barely makes it into Arizona and six were found about 32 miles north of the Mexican border, a few miles south of Tucson in a dry canyon. To the best of my knowledge this is as far north as they are known to occur. More details of this species can be found at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Neotropical Bird website.

White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrows 12” x 12” watercolor on wood panel

A 12” x 12” watercolor on wood panel

Here is a painting I did a couple of years ago. These are in the same genus (Zonotrichia) as the Rufous-collared that Dave photographed in Costa Rica. They are superabundant in our yard in the winter.

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Rufous-collared Sparrow

This perky bird has an extensive geographic distribution, occurring from southern Mexico to the southernmost tip of South America. We encountered a small group of them at the entrance to Los Quetzales National Park, Costa Rica, which is located near Cerro de la Muerte, the mountain of death, on the Pan American Highway. Once you drive this stretch of road, the origin of the “mountain of death” becomes apparent. We observed these birds around 9,000-10,000 above sea level. It was a cold, blustery, gray day when I photographed them and I wished there was more light to work with, but their beauty stands out even so.