Adult. Photo: Supun Wellappuli Arachchi/Audubon Photography Awards
Amphispiza bilineata
| Conservation status | Has declined in some areas with increasing development in desert areas; unlike some desert birds, does not adapt well to suburbs. In proper habitat, still widespread and common. |
|---|---|
| Family | New World Sparrows |
| Habitat | Arid brush, creosote-bush deserts. Lives in a variety of dry open habitats, from Sonoran desert with its mix of shrubs and cactus to very barren flats of creosote bush or saltbush. Also locally in grassland with scattered cactus, sagebrush flats, open pinyon-juniper woods. |
Forages mostly while running about on the ground; also does some foraging up in shrubs and desert trees. Occasionally makes short flights to catch insects in mid-air.
3-4, sometimes 2. Whitish to very pale blue. Details of incubation not well known. Young: Probably both parents feed the nestlings. Age at which young leave the nest not well known. May raise 2 broods per year.
Probably both parents feed the nestlings. Age at which young leave the nest not well known. May raise 2 broods per year.
Mostly seeds and insects. In general, probably eats more seeds in winter, more insects in summer. Also feeds on fresh green shoots, other green vegetation, and ripe berries and fruits when available. Can survive without water at some times of year, drawing its liquid from insects and green plants that it eats. Young are fed mostly insects.
Male sings in breeding season to defend nesting territory. Timing of nesting activity may vary from year to year, depending on timing of rains. Nest site is in a low shrub or branching cactus, typically well hidden and usually within 2' of the ground; sometimes placed on ground at base of shrub. Nest is a rather bulky, sturdy open cup of grass, weeds, plant fibers, and small twigs, lined with fine grass, plant down, and often with animal hair.
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