Harris's Sparrow
Encyclopedia
The Harris's Sparrow, Zonotrichia querula, is a large sparrow
.
Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada
(primarily the Northwest Territories
and Nunavut
, ranging slightly into northern Manitoba
and Saskatchewan
). In fact, this bird is Canada's only endemic breeder. In the winter they migrate
to the Great Plains
states of the United States
, from lower South Dakota
to upper Texas
.
The common name of this species commemorates the American amateur ornithologist Edward Harris
(1799–1863).
American sparrow
American sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
.
Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(primarily the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
and Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
, ranging slightly into northern Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
). In fact, this bird is Canada's only endemic breeder. In the winter they migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
states of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, from lower South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
to upper Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
The common name of this species commemorates the American amateur ornithologist Edward Harris
Edward Harris (ornithologist)
Edward Harris was an American farmer and amateur naturalist.Son of a farmer, Harris grew up near to Philadelphia...
(1799–1863).
External links
- Harris's Sparrow Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Harris's Sparrow Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Harris's Sparrow - Zonotrichia querula - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Harris's Sparrow photo gallery VIREO
Book
- Norment, CJ. Ph.D. (2007). Return to Warden's Grove: Science, desire, and the lives of sparrows. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press.
- Norment, C. J. and S. A. Shackleton. 1993. Harris’s Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula). In The Birds of North America, No. 64 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.
Thesis
- Norment CJ. Ph.D. (1992). The comparative breeding ecology of the Harris' sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) and white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) in the Northwest Territories, Canada. University of Kansas, United States, Kansas.
- Watt DJ. Ph.D. (1983). PLUMAGE COLORATION AND DOMINANCE BEHAVIOR IN THREE SPECIES OF SPARROWS OF THE GENUS ZONOTRICHIA. The University of Oklahoma, United States, Oklahoma.
Articles
- Bridgwater DD. (1968). Winter Movement and Habitat Use by Harris Sparrow Zonotrichia-Querula. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science. vol 47, pp. 53–59.
- Cook WM. (2004). Inadvertent bird captures in Sherman small mammal trapsSherman TrapThe Sherman trap is a box-style animal trap designed for the live capture of small mammals. It was invented by Dr. H.B. Sherman in the 1920s and became commercially available in 1955. Since that time, the Sherman trap has been used extensively by researchers in the biological sciences for...
in an old field mosaic. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. vol 107, no 3-4. pp. 170–172.
- Degraw WA & Kern MD. (1985). Changes in the Blood and Plasma Volume of Harris Sparrows Zonotrichia-Querula During Postnuptial Molt. Comparative Biochemistry & Physiology A. vol 81, no 4. pp. 889–894.
- Degraw WA & Kern MD. (1990). Postnuptial Molt in Harris' Sparrows. Condor. vol 92, no 4. pp. 829–838.
- Jackson WM, Rohwer S & Winnegrad RL. (1988). Status Signaling Is Absent within Age-and-Sex Classes of Harris' Sparrows. Auk. vol 105, no 3. pp. 424–427.
- Keating JF, Robel RJ, Adams AW, Behnke KC & Kemp KE. (1992). Role of handling time in selection of extruded food morsels by two granivorous bird species. Auk. vol 109, no 4. pp. 863–868.
- Norment CJ. (1992). Comparative breeding biology of Harris' sparrows and gambel's white-crowned sparrows in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Condor. vol 94, no 4. pp. 955–975.
- Norment CJ. (1993). Nest-site characteristics and nest predation in Harris' sparrows and white-crowned sparrows in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Auk. vol 110, no 4. pp. 769–777.
- Norment CJ. (1994). Breeding site fidelity in Harris' Sparrows, Zonotrichia querula, in the Northwest Territories. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 108, no 2. pp. 234–236.
- Norment CJ. (1995). Incubation patterns in Harris' Sparrows and White-Crowned Sparrows in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 66, no 4. pp. 553–563.
- Norment CJ. (1995). Prebasic (postnuptial) molt in free-ranging Harris' Sparrows, Zonotrichia querula, in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist. vol 109, no 4. pp. 470–472.
- Norment CJ. (2003). Patterns of nestling feeding in Harris's Sparrows, Zonotrichia querula and White-crowned Sparrows, Z. leucophrys, in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist. vol 117, no 2. pp. 203–208.
- Norment CJ & Fuller ME. (1997). Breeding-season frugivory by Harris' sparrows (Zonotrichia querula) and white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) in a low-Arctic ecosystem. Canadian Journal of Zoology-Revue Canadienne De Zoologie. vol 75, no 5. pp. 670–679.
- Peck GK & James RD. (1998). Breeding birds of Ontario: Nidology and distribution: Volume 2: Passerines (first revision - Part C: Tanagers to Old World sparrows). Ontario Birds. vol 16, no 3. pp. 111–127.
- Randall RN. (2004). Christmas bird counts for North Dakota 2003. Prairie Naturalist. vol 36, no 2. pp. 119–124.
- Robel RJ, Barnes ME, Kemp KE & Zimmerman JL. (1990). Influences of Time Postmortem Feeding Activity and Diet on Digestive Organ Morphology of Two Emberizids. Auk. vol 107, no 4. pp. 669–677.
- Robel RJ, Keating JF, Zimmerman JL, Behnke KC & Kemp KE. (1997). Consumption of colored and flavored food morsels by Harris' and American tree sparrows. Wilson Bulletin. vol 109, no 2. pp. 218–225.
- Rohwer S. (1977). Status Signaling in Harris Sparrows Some Experiments in Deception. Behaviour. vol 61, no 1-2. pp. 107–129.
- Rohwer S. (1985). Dyed Birds Achieve Higher Social Status Than Controls in Harris' Sparrows Zonotrichia-Querula. Animal Behaviour. vol 33, no 4. pp. 1325–1331.
- Rohwer S & Ewald PW. (1981). The Cost of Dominance and Advantage of Subordination in a Badge Signaling System. Evolution. vol 35, no 3. pp. 441–454.
- Rohwer S, Ewald PW & Rohwer FC. (1981). Variation in Size Appearance and Dominance within and among the Sex and Age Classes of Harris Sparrows Zonotrichia-Querula. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 52, no 4. pp. 291–303.
- Rohwer S & Rohwer FC. (1978). Status Signaling in Harris Sparrows Experimental Deceptions Achieved. Animal Behaviour. vol 26, no 4. pp. 1012–1022.
- Rohwer S & Wingfield JC. (1981). A Field Study of Social Dominance Plasma Levels of Luteinizing Hormone and Steroid Hormones in Wintering Harris Sparrows Zonotrichia-Querula. Zeitschrift fuer Tierpsychologie. vol 57, no 2. pp. 173–183.
- Sexton JW & Harker DFJ. (1972). Harriss Sparrow in Montgomery County Tennessee. Migrant. vol 43, no 1. pp. 20–21.
- Shackleton SA, Ratcliffe L, Horn AG & Naugler CT. (1991). SONG REPERTOIRES OF HARRIS SPARROWS (ZONOTRICHIA-QUERULA). Canadian Journal of Zoology-Revue Canadienne De Zoologie. vol 69, no 7. pp. 1867–1874.
- Shuman TW, Robel RJ, Zimmerman JL & Kemp KE. (1992). Time Budgets of Confined Northern Cardinals and Harris' Sparrows in Flocks of Different Size and Composition. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 63, no 2. pp. 129–137.
- Spicer GS. (1977). 2 New Nasal Mites of the Genus Ptilonyssus Mesostigmata Rhinonyssidae from Texas USA. Acarologia. vol 18, no 4. pp. 594–601.
- Wassenaar LI & Hobson KA. (2001). A stable-isotope approach to delineate geographical catchment areas of avian migration monitoring stations in North America. Environmental Science & Technology. vol 35, no 9. pp. 1845–1850.
- Watt DJ. (1986). A Comparative Study of Status Signaling in Sparrows Genus Zonotrichia. Animal Behaviour. vol 34, no 1. pp. 1–15.
- Watt DJ. (1986). Relationship of Plumage Variability Size and Sex to Social Dominance in Harris' Sparrows Zonotrichia-Querula. Animal Behaviour. vol 34, no 1. pp. 16–27.
- Wilson FE. (1990). On the Recovery of Photosensitivity in Two Passerine Species American Tree Sparrows Spizella-Arborea and Harris' Sparrows Zonotrichia-Querula. General & Comparative Endocrinology. vol 79, no 2. pp. 283–290.
- Wilson FE. (1991). THE RECOVERY OF PHOTOSENSITIVITY IN MALE HARRIS SPARROWS (ZONOTRICHIA-QUERULA). American Zoologist. vol 31, no 5. p. A21-A21.
- Wilson FE. (1992). PHOTOREFRACTORY HARRIS SPARROWS (ZONOTRICHIA-QUERULA) EXPOSED TO A WINTER-LIKE DAYLENGTH GRADUALLY REGAIN PHOTOSENSITIVITY AFTER A LAG. General and Comparative Endocrinology. vol 87, no 3. pp. 402–409.