Order
Passeriformes
Family
Passerellidae
Genus
Xenospiza
 
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Version 1.0

This is a historic version of this account.  Current version

SPECIES

Sierra Madre Sparrow Xenospiza baileyi

Michael Gallegos
Version: 1.0 — Published June 20, 2014

Conservation

The IUCN Red List status of Sierra Madre Sparrow is Endangered (BirdLife International 2014) due to its extremely small range (a distribution of 70 km2 and occurrence in only two sites according to BirdLife International 2014). Oliveras de Ita and Gómez de Silva (2007) recommended, however, that this status be raised to Critically Endangered based on rapid loss of increasingly fragmented small areas of occupancy. It is considered Endangered under Mexican law (NOM-059 SEMARNAT 2010). Sierra Madre Sparrow also is considered a species at greatest risk of extinction by Partners in Flight (Berlanga et al. 2010). Based on determinations of habitat loss, Berlanga et al. (2010) estimated that 50% or more of its population has been lost in Mexico during the last century.

A conservation strategy for the Sierra Madre Sparrow has been developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Mexican Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO). It includes plans for education and outreach activities, habitat restoration in the TVB, and exploring conservation opportunities in Durango (Berlanga et al. 2009).

Effects of human activity on populations

Sierra Madre Sparrow is dependent on specialized conditions in grassland habitats. These subalpine bunchgrass habitats are primarily communally owned. The primary threats to this species are conversion of habitat to agriculture and severe overgrazing by livestock, as well as unsustainable fire management (e.g., large-scale, uncontrolled burning of bunchgrass) and forestry practices (e.g., tree planting) (Oliveras de Ita et al. 2012). The primary limiting factor seems to be the small area of available breeding habitat; only 37 ha of bunchgrass remain at La Cima (18.5% of the habitat available prior to agriculture in the area (Oliveras de Ita et al. 2001).

Recommended Citation

Gallegos, M. (2014). Sierra Madre Sparrow (Xenospiza baileyi), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.simspa1.01