Belding's Sparrow (Passerculus guttatus) - BirdLife species factsheet

Belding's Sparrow Passerculus guttatus

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic note

Passerculus sandwichensis, P. guttatus, P. sanctorum and P. rostratus (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) were previously lumped as P. sandwichensis following AERC TAC (2003); AOU (1998 & supplements).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Least Concern
2018	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Species attributes

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	26 g

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	415,000 km²	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	444,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	2.2 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified given recent taxonomic splits.

Trend justification: The population trend has not been quantified across the range due to recent taxonomic splits. In California, the population appears to be in decline (Meehan et al. 2018; Pardieck et al. 2018). Even though the species appears to tolerate human disturbance and habitat conversion (Wheelwright and Rising 2020), it is precautionarily suspected to undergo a slow decline.

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Mexico	extant	native	yes		yes
USA	extant	native	yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Sand Dunes	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Sand Dunes	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses)	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	non-breeding
Altitude	0 - 4000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Belding's Sparrow Passerculus guttatus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/beldings-sparrow-passerculus-guttatus on 27/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 27/11/2024.