Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) | Details

Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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
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

Species attributes

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	29 g

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	8,390,000 km²	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	5,060,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	11000000 mature individuals	poor	inferred	2019
Population trend	decreasing	-	inferred	-
Generation length	3.02 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population is inferred to number 11 million mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2019).

Trend justification: The species has been undergoing a moderate decline at an average rate of 0.7% per year between 1970 and 2017 (Partners in Flight 2019). Short-term trends suggest that the population in North America has been roughly stable over the past ten years (Pardieck et al. 2018).

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Bahamas	extant	vagrant
Belize	extant	vagrant			yes
Bermuda (to UK)	extant	vagrant				yes
Canada	extant	native		yes
Costa Rica	extant	vagrant			yes
Cuba	extant	vagrant			yes
El Salvador	extant	vagrant			yes
Guatemala	extant	vagrant			yes
Honduras	extant	vagrant			yes
Jamaica	extant	vagrant			yes
Mexico	extant	native	yes		yes	yes
Panama	extant	vagrant			yes
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France)	extant	vagrant		yes
Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK)	extant	vagrant			yes
United Kingdom	extant	vagrant				yes
USA	extant	native	yes	yes	yes	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	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	breeding
Forest	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Forest	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Temperate	major	non-breeding
Grassland	Temperate	major	breeding
Altitude	1100 - 2400 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Species factsheet: Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/lark-sparrow-chondestes-grammacus on 15/01/2025.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2025) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 15/01/2025.