Birdsong field guide
Botteri's Sparrow
Peucaea botterii
A secretive, medium-sized sparrow of the American Southwest and Mexico, characterized by its brownish plumage and reliance on tall, dense grasslands. It is most easily identified during the summer breeding season when males sing from low perches.
What it sounds like
A series of high, thin 'tsep' notes that gradually accelerate into a rapid, dry trill, often described as 'pitt-pitt-pitt-pitt-pitt-preeee'.
Reference call, compare with what you heard
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Field notes
- The species is named after Matteo Botteri, a 19th-century Dalmatian botanist and collector who worked in Mexico.
- Botteri's Sparrow was once thought to be extinct in Arizona due to overgrazing before its populations recovered in the mid-20th century.
- They are notoriously difficult to flush, preferring to run through thick grass like a mouse rather than taking flight.
- In the United States, their presence is closely tied to the health of giant sacaton grass (Sporobolus wrightii).
- Unlike many other sparrows, their breeding season is primarily triggered by the onset of summer monsoon rains in July.
Habitat
Tall-grass prairies, semi-desert grasslands, and coastal scrub, particularly areas dominated by sacaton or cordgrass.
Range
Southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and south Texas through Mexico to the highlands of Costa Rica.
Similar & commonly confused birds
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