Sage Sparrow, Amphispiza belliThere
are several subspecies of Sage Sparrow. Their coloration and behavior
is noticable different. The coastal form is smaller and darker but has
little or no lines on breast and the black and white coloration is
clear. The coastal Amphispiza belli belli behaves
more like a wrentit than a sparrow hiding in the foliage and
focused on the pond. The southern inland form seems to hang out more in
the open, the pictures here were taken next to a puddle in the nursery.
The Southern inland form, Amphispiza belli canescens,
is more brown than gray, with many brown lines on the brest. It behaves
like a Tohoe or White Crowned Sparrow.. The desert form Amphispiza belli nevadensis, is usually up on a bush or tree watching you. I thought it was a funny looking Jay, as it acted like a Jay.
It
was only an accident that we got all three pictures. The desert picture
was the only bird we saw along the desert edge by Lucrene back in
2003. The interior form was at the Santa Margarita Nursery after 5
years of drought, the coastal form showed up the next year after we got
rain and much of the rest of California did not. We bought a bunch more
bird books before we figured out that the coastal form did not look
like the others.
 How
to attract the Sage sparrow to your garden
 Some
of the sage sparrow's favorite plants are Sage
brush, Artemisia spp., Chamise,
Adenostoma spp., Bitterbush,
Purshia spp., and Salt
bush, Atriplex spp. They like a dense cover of shrubs.
The Sage sparrow will use a bird bath.
Diet of the Sage sparrow
During the breeding season the sage sparrow
eats a mixture of seeds, insects and spiders. During the non
breading season the sage sparrow eats mainly seeds. They glean
from low shrubs or herbs.
Habitat/ Plant community used by the Sage
sparrow
The sage sparrow likes dense brushy habitats.
Chaparral
Creosote
bush scrub
Coastal
sage scrub
Shadscale
scrub
 Nesting
habitat of the Sage sparrow
The Sage sparrow nests on the ground under
cover of shrubs. They will occasionally nest on the ground.
Migration of the Sage sparrow
Summer populations of the Sage sparrow, east
of the cascades, moves to southern deserts in the winter.
Range of the Sage sparrow
The sage sparrow is found in California, west
of the central valley in shrubby habitats. They occupy the
southern deserts in the winter.
 
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