• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Near Threatened	A2ac+3c+4ac
2018	Near Threatened	A2ac+3c+4ac
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	2,820,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	1,420,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2000000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2019
Population trend	decreasing	-	estimated	2014-2024
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Generation length	3.15 years	-	-	-

Population justification: Partners in Flight (2019) estimate the population size to be 2,000,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Partners in Flight (2019) estimate an annual population reduction of -1.9%, which equates to a ~17.6% reduction across the stipulated ten year period. The Christmas Bird Count further suggests an annual decline of 1.95%, or a ~17.9% decline over ten years (Meehan et al. 2018). Rosenberg et al. (2016) also suggest a ~2.2% annual rate of decline between 1970 and 2014, equable to a ~20.2% decline across a ten year period. Some estimates have however, placed the rate of decline in Canadian populations considerably higher (Meehan et al. 2018) and as such, the rate of decline here is placed in the band 20-29%.

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	marginal	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	marginal	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Boreal	major	breeding
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Tundra	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Tundra	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Boreal	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Boreal	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Harris's Sparrow Zonotrichia querula. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/harriss-sparrow-zonotrichia-querula on 22/12/2024.
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 22/12/2024.