Rufous-crowned Sparrow

About the Rufous-crowned Sparrow

The Rufous-crowned Sparrow is a chunky, plain-breasted sparrow of rocky country, gray-brown above with a rusty cap, a white eye-ring, and a distinctive black whisker mark bordering the throat. Unlike most sparrows it shows no streaking below.

It lives on steep, sun-baked hillsides where grass grows between rocks and scattered shrubs, staying low and scurrying between clumps more like a mouse than a bird. Pairs hold the same territory year-round, nest on the ground under a grass tuft or small shrub, and give a thin "dear-dear-dear" call when disturbed. The song is a fast, sputtering jumble delivered from a rock or low bush.

In Texas the species is a resident of the Edwards Plateau and the rocky canyons of West Texas - a Hill Country specialty best found by listening along juniper-studded slopes.