Bell’s Sparrow
Bell's Sparrow
Artemisiospiza belli
At a Glance
Formerly considered part of the same species as the Sagebrush Sparrow, this bird is locally common in sage scrub habitat near the California coast and locally in open habitats of the interior. It is often seen running about on the ground, with its longish tail cocked up above the level of its back; when perched up on a shrub, it twitches its tail in a down-up motion like a phoebe.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Perching Birds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Desert and Arid Habitats, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets
Population
270.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Populations west of the Sierra in California are mostly permanent residents. Those from the interior are more migratory, with some spreading eastward into Arizona in winter.
Description
4-5 1/2" (10-13 cm). Gray-brown above, whitish below, with a dark chest spot and narrow streaks on sides. Face pattern includes short white eyebrow and bold white mustache stripe. Birds living near the coast are darker and more contrasting than those of the interior of California.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Tail Shape
Notched, Rounded, Square-tipped
Habitat
Coastal sage scrub, chaparral; in winter, also deserts. Found year-round in unique sage scrub habitat on the California coastal slope and foothills. In the interior, also breeds in saltbush, chamise, and other low shrubs of arid flats. In winter some spread eastward into open flats and deserts with scattered brush.
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Behavior
Eggs
3-4, sometimes 2-5. Bluish white to pale blue, variably spotted or blotched with brown, gray, and black. Incubation lasts about 13-16 days.
Young
Probably both parents feed the nestlings. Young leave the nest about 9-11 days after hatching. Often 2 broods per year, sometimes 3.
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly on the ground, picking up items from the soil or from plant stems, sometimes scratching with its feet. Also does some feeding up in low bushes. When not nesting, may forage in small flocks.
Diet
Mostly seeds and insects. Feeds on many insects, especially in summer, including grasshoppers, beetles, true bugs, and others, also spiders. Also eats many seeds of weeds, grasses, and shrubs. Young are fed mostly insects.
Nesting
Male returns to same nesting territory each year, defends it by singing from a raised perch. Nest site is usually in low shrub, less than 4' above the ground. Sometimes placed on the ground under a shrub. Nest is a bulky open cup, made of twigs, sticks, lined with fine dry grass, weeds, sometimes animal hair.
Conservation
Conservation Status
As with various other species along California coast, may be vulnerable to loss of habitat. The endemic race on San Clemente Island, California, is endangered.
Climate Threats Facing the Bell's Sparrow
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.