Brewer's Sparrow
Common
Name: Brewer's Sparrow (BRSP)
Scientific
Name:
Spizella
breweri
Global/Continental
Conservation Status: IUCN
2004 Red List – NT (Near Threatened)
National-level
Conservation Status:
U.S.
– Bird of Conservation Concern
Key
Reference(s):
BNA No. 390 (Rotenberry et al. 1999)
Distribution:
Breeds [taverneri group]
from sw Yukon, nw British Columbia, and w-c Alberta south to mountains of
coastal s and se British Columbia and sw Alberta; and [breweri group] from central s British Columbia, s Alberta, sw
Saskatchewan and sw North Dakota south (generally east of the Cascades and
the coast ranges) to e and s California (to western Riverside County, Mt.
Pinos, and the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, formerly
elsewhere), s Nevada, c Arizona, nw New Mexico, Colorado (except se), sw
Kansas, nw Nebraska, and sw South Dakota.
Winters [breweri group]
from southern interior (casually central and coastal) California, s
Nevada, w and c Arizona, s New Mexico, and w and c Texas south to s Baja
California and Sonora (including Isla Tiburón), in the Mexican highlands
to Jalisco and Guanajuato; winter range [taverneri
group] poorly known, recorded in migration from Arizona, New Mexico
and w Texas (AOU 1998).
Habitat
Associations:
Brushland, especially sagebrush; in migration and winter also in
desert scrub and creosote bush (AOU 1998).
Source(s)
of Research/monitoring Needs: Idaho Bird Conservation
Plan; Montana Bird Conservation Plan; Canadian Action Plan (Dunn 2002);
BNA No. 390 (Rotenberry et al. 1999); PIF Monitoring Needs document
(Partners in Flight Science Committee 2004)
PIF
Continental Plan Monitoring Needs Category: ** (Long-term population
trend monitoring considered adequate, but some issues (e.g., bias) may not
be accounted for)
RESEARCH/MONITORING NEEDS (source(s) of needs)
Monitoring
- Priority
monitoring action – NOTE: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) provides
acceptable data at the continental level (PIF Monitoring Needs doc)
- Second
priority monitoring action – Improve the BBS (PIF Monitoring Needs
doc)
- Supplemental
BRSP Surveys
- Conduct statewide inventory and collect baseline data on size,
amount, and configuration of big sagebrush stands as habitat for
priority species including BRSP (
Montana
)
- Determine
status of taverneri
(Timberline) subspecies, possibly via GIS studies of distribution of
appropriate habitat and spot-checking for presence throughout range;
evaluate status of sagebrush (breweri)
subspecies separately; possibly through Grassland Bird Monitoring
Program (Canadian Action Plan)
- See
needs under “Habitat Restoration”
Habitat
Needs/Ecology/Life History
- Determine
habitat requirements for shrubsteppe obligates including BRSP (
Idaho
)
- Ecology
of taverneri (Timberline)
subspecies, both in summer and winter (Canadian Action Plan)
- Basic
ecological information - Information on genetic vs social mating systems of BRSP (degree
of polygyny, extra-pair copulations, egg-dumping) (BNA); Studies of
vocalizations (role of "long song" in mate attraction &
territory maintenance, manner & timing of acquisition &
learning of songs) (BNA)
- See
needs in “Wintering”
Effects
of Management Practices
- Effects
of livestock grazing on shrubsteppe bird communities including BRSP (
Montana
)
- Identify
sagebrush control methods which don't effect herbaceous cover for
priority species including BRSP (
Montana
)
Species
Interactions
- Assess
Sage Grouse as an umbrella species to manage sagebrush habitat for
other priority species including BRSP (
Montana
)
Migration
- More
information on BRSP migration (BNA)
Wintering
- Determine
winter range, distribution, and habitat of taverni
(Timberline) subspecies (Canadian Action Plan; BNA)
- Status
and behavior of BRSP in winter (including habitat associations, diet,
local & regional population dynamics, predation, effects of bad
weather, movement patterns) (BNA)
Invasives/Exotics/Disease/Parasites/Contaminants
- Impact
of internal & external parasites on BRSP (BNA)
Demographics
- Information
on post fledging period (including survivorship, movements prior to
migration, subsequent natal dispersal) (BNA)
Habitat
Restoration
- Identify
priority areas for restoration in sagebrush shrubsteppe habitat for
priority species including BRSP (
Montana
)
[Link
to References]
[Link
to PIF Bird Conservation Plans]
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