The Botteri's Sparrow, Aimophila botterii, is a medium-sized sparrow

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....

.

This passerine

Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

 bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 is primarily found in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, with a breeding range that extends into the southeastern tip of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, and a small non-migratory population in the Rio Grande Valley

Rio Grande Valley

The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...

 of southern 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...

, which is threatened

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

 by loss of habitat.

It was not found in Arizona between the 1890s and the mid-20th century due to excessive grazing

Grazing

Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...

 of livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

; nowadays, it is locally common in its Arizona range due to recovery of vegetation. Juvenile

Juvenile (organism)

A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...

 birds apparently need dense vegetation to hide in during fledging; the uncommon native sacaton grass

Sporobolus

Sporobolus is a genus of grasses in the family Poaceae. They are usually called dropseed grasses or sacaton grasses. They are typical prairie and savanna plants, and they occur in other types of open habitat in warmer climates....

 Sporobolus wrightii is preferred, but stands of introduced

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 non-native Lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana) and Boer lovegrass (E. curvula var. conferta) are also successfully utilized, though at lower population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

.

The name of this species commemorates the ornithologist Matteo Botteri

Matteo Botteri

Matteo Botteri was an ornithologist and collector.Botteri was born in Hvar, in modern day Croatia from an Italian family. In 1854 he travelled to Mexico to collect plants on behalf of the Royal Horticultural Society...

(1808–1877).

Book

• Webb, E. A., and C. E. Bock. 1996. Botteri’s Sparrow (Aimophila botterii). In The Birds of North America, No. 216 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.

Thesis

• Jones ZF. Ph.D. (2003). The impacts of an exotic habitat on the population dynamics of a grassland specialist, the Botteri's sparrow (Aimophila botterii), in southeastern Arizona. University of Colorado at Boulder, United States, Colorado.

• Kirkpatrick CK. M.S. (1999). Trends in grassland bird abundance following prescribed burning in southern Arizona. The University of Arizona, United States, Arizona.

Articles

• Bock CE & Bock JH. (1992). Response of Birds to Wildfire in Native Versus Exotic Arizona Grassland. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 37, no 1. pp. 73–81.

• Bock CE & Bock JH. (2002). Numerical response of grassland birds to cattle ranching versus exurban development in southeastern Arizona. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting Abstracts. vol 87, no 79.

• Borror DJ. (1971). Songs of Aimophila Sparrows Occurring in the USA. Wilson Bulletin. vol 83, no 2. pp. 132–151.

• Contreras-Balderas AJ. (1988). New Records of Birds from Nuevo León Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 33, no 2. pp. 251–252.

• Conway DK & Benson KLP. (1990). A Range Extension for Nesting Botteri's Sparrow Aimophila-Botterii in Southern Texas USA. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 35, no 3. pp. 348–349.

• 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. pp. 532–541.

• Eaton MD. (2007). Avian visual perspective on plumage coloration confirms rarity of sexually monochromatic North American passerines. Auk. vol 124, no 1. pp. 155–161.

• Fall BA. (1973). Noteworthy Bird Records from South Texas Kenedy County. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 18, no 2. pp. 244–246.

• Jones ZF & Bock CE. (2002). Nest success as a misleading indicator of habitat quality in the Botteri's Sparrow. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting Abstracts. vol 87, no 171.

• Kirkpatrick C, DeStefano S, Mannan RW & Lloyd J. (2002). Trends in abundance of grassland birds following a spring prescribed burn in southern Arizona. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 47, no 2. pp. 282–292.

• Maurer BA, Webb EA & Bowers RK. (1989). Nest Characteristics and Nestling Development of Cassin's and Botteri's Sparrows in Southeastern Arizona USA. Condor. vol 91, no 3. pp. 736–738.

• Ohmart RD. (1968). Breeding of Botteris Sparrow Aimophila-Botterii in Arizona USA. Condor. vol 70, no 3.

• Swanson DW. (1985). New Nesting Record for Botteris Sparrow Aimophila-Botterii in South Texas USA. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 30, no 1. pp. 161–161.