The five-striped sparrow (''Amphispizopsis quinquestriata'') is a medium-sized sparrow. It is the only member of the genus ''Amphispizopsis''. It was formerly classified in the genus '' Amphispiza'' with the

black-throated sparrow The black-throated sparrow (''Amphispiza bilineata'') is a small New World sparrow primarily found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is the only member of the genus ''Amphispiza''; the five-striped sparrow, formerly also classifie ...

(''Amphispiza bilineata''). This

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

is primarily found along the eastern

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

region and

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

region of mainland western

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, with a breeding range that extends into the southern tip of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American ...

mountain range containing the

Madrean sky islands The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine–oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are s ...

, of southeastern Arizona, extreme southwestern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, and northern Sonora. The species was first recorded breeding in the US in 1950s and remains a rare breeding bird. This species is a regular victim of

cowbird Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus ''Molothrus'' in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin, and are obligate brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species. The genus was introduced by English naturalist Will ...

nest parasites.

Habitat

The five-stripped sparrow favours steep brushy hillsides in canyon regions.

Feeding

This species often forages on the ground, looking for small seeds and insects. In the summer, the species diet shifts more towards insects such as caterpillars.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2229825 Native birds of the Southwestern United States Birds of Mexico Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental

five-striped sparrow The five-striped sparrow (''Amphispizopsis quinquestriata'') is a medium-sized sparrow. It is the only member of the genus ''Amphispizopsis''. It was formerly classified in the genus '' Amphispiza'' with the black-throated sparrow (''Amphispiza ...

Passerellidae American sparrows Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN