[texbirds] Re: Striped Sparrow!!! in eastern Williamson Co. 1/11/15
- From: Cameron Carver <c.o.carver@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 20:23:00 -0600
In a quick search, this species appears to be sedentary. Can anyone confirm
this? This seems similar to the Colorado Rufous-collared Saprrow from 2011.
Cameron Carver
Oklahoma City, OK
On Sun, Jan 11, 2015 at 7:50 PM, Rich Kostecke <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> This afternoon, I was birding CR 428 in eastern Williamson County. I was
> on CR 428, just 0.1 east of its intersection with CR 361, at 3:37pm when I
> came across a bird that totally had me befuddled. It popped out of the
> large grassy field on the north side of the road with several other
> sparrows.
> It was basically a large, flat-headed, sparrow-like bird, but what struck
> me was it rufous cap, white eye-line, and black mask. At first, the back
> and tail looked to me like they had a greenish tint, but the pictures I
> took show that the back and tail were more brown. The pictures I took also
> show the gray belly and white throat. It may have stood on the road for
> about 10 seconds, making hard, rapid tik sounds, before skittering off into
> the tangles of vegetation on the south side of the road along the San
> Gabriel River. I attempted to pish/squeak it back into view, which kind of
> worked for the next minute it or so as it moved around rapidly in the
> brush, madly tiking the whole time. It then went quiet.
> Again, my first impression was maybe some kind of brush-finch or
> something, but now that I am back at the house with my field guides and
> looking at the photos I took on my computer, it appears to be a Striped
> Sparrow (though if I am missing something and folks think it is something
> else, please let me know), a species that is apparently endemic to the
> northwest and central Mexican highlands. The closest in Mexico it gets to
> Texas appears to be the boundary between Sonora and Chihuahua states. I
> have not searched extensively, so have no idea about their migratory
> movements or their status in the bird markets. Habitat is noted as open
> pine woodland, fields, and meadows, esp. with bunch grasses. It is also
> apparently known to perching on posts or rocks (in this instance I guess
> the road will do).
> The photos I took. I also shot some video that seems have captured audio
> of its call.
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/kostecke/16071840148/https://www.flickr.com/photos/kostecke/16073235299/in/photostream/
> For anyone who may go a-chasing this sparrow, I last saw it around the no
> dumping sign on the south side of the road. Also, the road does get a fair
> bit of traffic, so be courteous and please don't block the roadway.
> Rich
> Richard Kostecke, Ph.D.
> The Nature Conservancy
> 318 Congress Ave., Austin, Texas 78701Email: rkost73@xxxxxxxxx or
> rkostecke@xxxxxxx
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