UPPERCASE: current genusUppercase first letter: generic synonym● and ● See: generic homonymslowercase: species and subspecies●: early names, variants, misspellings‡: extinct†: type speciesGr.: ancient GreekL.: Latin<: derived fromsyn: synonym of/: separates historical and modern geographic namesex: based onTL: type localityOD: original diagnosis (genus) or original description (species)
D. Alexander Carrillo Martínez, Zayra Arery Guadalupe Muñoz González, Cody Smith, David L. Slager, and Andrew J. Spencer
Version: 3.0 — Published February 9, 2024
Systematics
Systematics History
The first reference of Striped Sparrow is from before 1803 as Tanagra superciliaris (J. M. Mociño, unpublished; see 8
Navarro-Sigüenza, A. G., A. Townsend Peterson, M. A. Puig-Samper, and G. Zamudio (2007). The ornithology of the Real Expedición Botánica a Nueva España (1787–1803): An analysis of the manuscripts of José Mariano Mociño. Condor 109(4): 808–823.
). The earliest published mention of the species is associated with William Swainson in 1837 with the name Aimophila superciliosa (9
Swainson, W. (1837). On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. Volume 2. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, and John Taylor, London, United Kingdom.
), and the official description was published in 1838 (10
Swainson, W. (1838). Animals in Menageries. Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, and John Taylor, London, United Kingdom. pp. 314–315.
). In 1850, the species was described again by C. L. Bonaparte as Oriturus mexicanus (11
Bonaparte, C. L. (1850) Conspectus Generum Avium. Volume 1. E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands.
); however, Bonaparte later recognized that his "new" species was, in fact, the Aimophila superciliosa described by Swainson (12
Bonaparte, C. (1856). Excursions dans les divers musee d'Allemagne, de Hollande et de Belgique, et tableaux parelleliques de I'ordre des Echassiers. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences 43:410–421.
, 13
McKitrick, M. C. (1981). Generic limits and relationships of Aimophila (Aves: Fringillidae). M.S. thesis, University of Arizona, AZ, USA.
).
Ridgway (14
Ridgway, R. (1898). Descriptions of supposed new genera, species and subspecies of American birds. I. Fringillidae. Auk 15(3):223–230.
: 224) determined that Striped Sparrow did not belong to Aimophila, because "... tail shorter than wing instead of longer, and wing much less rounded, the first primary longer than eighth instead of shorter than tenth, and second to sixth primaries longest and nearly equal," and proposed a change to Plagiospiza superciliosa. The genus Plagiospiza was later replaced with Oriturus, due to priority rules (13
McKitrick, M. C. (1981). Generic limits and relationships of Aimophila (Aves: Fringillidae). M.S. thesis, University of Arizona, AZ, USA.
), and the Striped Sparrow has remained as Oriturus superciliosus ever since.
Phylogenetic studies have found that Striped Sparrow represents an early lineage of the North American "grassland" and "bushland" sparrows, with no close, extant relatives, confirming its separation from Aimophila (15
Klicka, J., and G. M. Spellman (2007). A molecular evaluation of the North American “grassland” sparrow clade. Auk 124(2): 537–551.
, 16
Klicka, J., F. K. Barker, K. J. Burns, S. M. Lanyon, I. J. Lovette, J. A. Chaves, and R. W. Bryson Jr. (2014). A comprehensive multilocus assessment of sparrow (Aves: Passerellidae) relationships. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 77:177–182.
).
Geographic Variation
There is weak geographic variation in plumage coloration. Northern individuals were described by van Rossem (17
van Rossem, A. J. (1938). Descriptions of twenty-one new races of Fringillidae and Icteridae from Mexico and Guatemala. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 58: 124–138.
) as tending to have redder and paler upperparts, completely gray central rectrices, and a whitish throat and central abdomen, with the rest of the underparts gray, while southern birds were described as having brownish upperparts, predominantly dark gray underparts, and central rectrices with olive or olive-brown outer edges. However, this geographic variation in color could be a result of discoloration of specimens reviewed by van Rossem (17
van Rossem, A. J. (1938). Descriptions of twenty-one new races of Fringillidae and Icteridae from Mexico and Guatemala. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 58: 124–138.
) as a result of age. In 1952, Paynter (6
Paynter, R. A., Jr. (1952). Birds from Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl, Mexico. Auk 69:293–301.
) examined older specimens from Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango, Jalisco, and Veracruz, and compared them with recently collected specimens from Puebla. He found no evidence of geographic variation, even when comparing specimens of similar age from Chihuahua and Veracruz, the northern and southern extremes of the species' distribution, respectively.
Subspecies
Two subspecies recognized: O. superciliosus superciliosus and O. superciliosus palliatus (18
Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood (2019). The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA.
). However, differences between the two subspecies are slight, and investigation by Paynter (6
Paynter, R. A., Jr. (1952). Birds from Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl, Mexico. Auk 69:293–301.
) suggested that differences may be nonexistent, and that the species may be best treated as monotypic (19
Dickinson, E. C., and L. Christidis, Editors (2014). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth Edition. Volume 2. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK.
). Populations from Aguascalientes, Durango, Jalisco, Nayarit, San Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas were reportedly intermediate between superciliosus and palliatus (17
van Rossem, A. J. (1938). Descriptions of twenty-one new races of Fringillidae and Icteridae from Mexico and Guatemala. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 58: 124–138.
, 20
Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA.
).
(van Rossem, 1938) [type locality = near Tutuaca, ~2,895 m, Chihuahua, Mexico] (17
van Rossem, A. J. (1938). Descriptions of twenty-one new races of Fringillidae and Icteridae from Mexico and Guatemala. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 58: 124–138.
).
Distribution
Western Mexico in Sierra Madre Occidental from eastern Sonora and southwestern Chihuahua south through eastern Sinaloa and western Durango to Nayarit and western Zacatecas (20
Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA.
, 2
Byers, C., J. Curson, and J. Olsson (1995). Sparrows and Buntings: A Guide to the Sparrows and Buntings of North America and the World. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY, USA.
).
Identification Summary
Redder and paler coloration, central rectrices gray, throat and median abdominal region whitish, and lower abdomen light gray (17
van Rossem, A. J. (1938). Descriptions of twenty-one new races of Fringillidae and Icteridae from Mexico and Guatemala. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 58: 124–138.
, 6
Paynter, R. A., Jr. (1952). Birds from Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl, Mexico. Auk 69:293–301.
).
UPPERCASE: current genusUppercase first letter: generic synonym● and ● See: generic homonymslowercase: species and subspecies●: early names, variants, misspellings‡: extinct†: type speciesGr.: ancient GreekL.: Latin<: derived fromsyn: synonym of/: separates historical and modern geographic namesex: based onTL: type localityOD: original diagnosis (genus) or original description (species)
(Swainson, 1838) [type locality = Mexico] (10
Swainson, W. (1838). Animals in Menageries. Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, and John Taylor, London, United Kingdom. pp. 314–315.
).
Distribution
Occurs in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre Oriental, Balsas Basin, and Sierra Madre del Sur, from Jalisco, Aguascalientes, and Guanajuato east to Tlaxcala and west-central Veracruz, south to Michoacán, Morelos, Puebla, and disjunctly in central Oaxaca (20
Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA.
, 2
Byers, C., J. Curson, and J. Olsson (1995). Sparrows and Buntings: A Guide to the Sparrows and Buntings of North America and the World. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY, USA.
, 21
Forcey, J. M., and R. Aragón (2009). Notes on Oaxacan birds. Huitzil 10(2): 38–47.
).
Identification Summary
Brownish or chocolate coloration, with the central rectrices olive or olive brown laterally, and the throat and abdomen gray (17
van Rossem, A. J. (1938). Descriptions of twenty-one new races of Fringillidae and Icteridae from Mexico and Guatemala. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 58: 124–138.
, 6
Paynter, R. A., Jr. (1952). Birds from Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl, Mexico. Auk 69:293–301.
).
UPPERCASE: current genusUppercase first letter: generic synonym● and ● See: generic homonymslowercase: species and subspecies●: early names, variants, misspellings‡: extinct†: type speciesGr.: ancient GreekL.: Latin<: derived fromsyn: synonym of/: separates historical and modern geographic namesex: based onTL: type localityOD: original diagnosis (genus) or original description (species)
Striped Sparrow is the sole member of the genus Oriturus Bonaparte 1850 (11
Bonaparte, C. L. (1850) Conspectus Generum Avium. Volume 1. E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands.
). This species was originally described as a species of Aimophila, and was considered by many to be closely related to other members of this genus due to its similarity in appearance and morphology (13
McKitrick, M. C. (1981). Generic limits and relationships of Aimophila (Aves: Fringillidae). M.S. thesis, University of Arizona, AZ, USA.
, 2
Byers, C., J. Curson, and J. Olsson (1995). Sparrows and Buntings: A Guide to the Sparrows and Buntings of North America and the World. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY, USA.
, 22
Webster, J. D., and J. R. Webster (1999). Skeletons and the genera of sparrows (Emberizinae). Auk 116: 1054–1074.
). One exception was Phillips (23
Phillips, A. R. (1943). Critical notes on two southwestern sparrows. Auk 60: 242–248.
), who believed Striped Sparrow was more closely related to Peucaea based on relative proportions in the length of the wings and tail; Storer (24
Storer, R. W. (1955). A preliminary survey of the sparrows of the genus Aimophila. Condor 57: 193–201.
) similarly found Striped Sparrow to be distinct from Aimophila when comparing the skulls of different species from the genus Aimophila (sensu lato).
Recent phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data (from both mitochondrial and nuclear genes) further support earlier studies suggesting it is not closely related to Aimophila. Rather, it appears that Striped Sparrow is sister to a relatively large clade that includes the genera Melospiza, Ammospiza, Centronyx, and the monotypic genera Xenospiza and Passerculus(15
Klicka, J., and G. M. Spellman (2007). A molecular evaluation of the North American “grassland” sparrow clade. Auk 124(2): 537–551.
, 25
Barker, F. K., K. J. Burns, J. Klicka, S. M. Lanyon, and I. J. Lovette (2015). New insights into New World biogeography: an integrated view from the phylogeny of blackbirds, cardinals, sparrows, tanagers, warblers, and allies. Auk 132:333–348.
); this clade may also include the monotypic genus Poocetes (16
Klicka, J., F. K. Barker, K. J. Burns, S. M. Lanyon, I. J. Lovette, J. A. Chaves, and R. W. Bryson Jr. (2014). A comprehensive multilocus assessment of sparrow (Aves: Passerellidae) relationships. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 77:177–182.
).
Nomenclature
Vernacular Names
Spanish Name (Mexico)
"Zacatonero Serrano"
Zacatonero: Name given to the sparrows from the genera: Peucaea, Amphispiza, Artemisiospiza, Oriturus, and Aimophila. These are sparrows that can be found in "zacatonales" (mountain grasslands).
Serrano: From the "sierra" (mountains).
Also, "Zorzal Rayado" (26
Birkenstein, L. R., and R. E. Tomlinson (1981). Native names of Mexican birds: Cross-referenced English/Spanish/Scientific. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.
), "Zacatonero Rayado" (27
LePage, D. (2024). Avibase: the World Bird Database [web application]. Accessed 2024. https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/ https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/
).
English Name
Striped: With stripes, referring to the rufous crown, and the big white and black stripes on the head (supercilium and mask).
Sparrow: Name given to some sparrow-like birds from the families Passerellidae (New World Sparrows) and Passeridae (Old World Sparrows).
Scientific Names
Oriturus (Bonaparte, 1850) (11
Bonaparte, C. L. (1850) Conspectus Generum Avium. Volume 1. E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands.
), synonymous of the genus Orites (Gray 1841), that comes from the Greek oritis (mountain-roaming, mountaineer); and oura (tail).
superciliosus / superciliosa; Swainson, 1838 (10
Swainson, W. (1838). Animals in Menageries. Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, and John Taylor, London, United Kingdom. pp. 314–315.
), from the Latin supercilium (eyebrow).
Older Scientific Names
Aimophila (Swainson, 1838) (10
Swainson, W. (1838). Animals in Menageries. Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, and John Taylor, London, United Kingdom. pp. 314–315.
), "Aimophila superciliosa", from the Greek aimos (copse, thicket); and philos (to love).
mexicanus (Bonaparte, 1850) (11
Bonaparte, C. L. (1850) Conspectus Generum Avium. Volume 1. E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands.
), "Oriturus mexicanus", name for location: Mexico.
Plagiospiza (Ridgway, 1898 (14
Ridgway, R. (1898). Descriptions of supposed new genera, species and subspecies of American birds. I. Fringillidae. Auk 15(3):223–230.
), "Plagiospiza superciliosa", from the Greek plagios (oblique); and spiza (finch).
Fossil History
No information. Some specimens of Oriturus superciliosus from the National History Museum, London (NHMUK), Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University (MCZ), Michigan State University Mammalogy, Ornithology and Vertebrate Paleontology Collections (MSU), and the University Museum of Zoology Cambridge (UMZC) are cataloged as "fossil specimens," but it seems to be an error in the databases.
Recommended Citation
Carrillo Martínez, D. A., Z. A. G. Muñoz González, C. Smith, D. L. Slager, and A. J. Spencer (2024). Striped Sparrow (Oriturus superciliosus), version 3.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney and P. G. Rodewald, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.strspa1.03
Partnerships
A global alliance of nature organizations working to document the natural history of all bird species at an unprecedented scale.
