Vorstman's guideThe birds of Canada, the United States and Greenland

All species › Passerines › New World sparrows

New World sparrows | Passerellidae

Amerikaanse gorzen | Chingolos

Despite the name, these American sparrows are unrelated to the Old World sparrows; the family stands apart from them and was only recognised as its own group relatively recently, on the basis of DNA evidence, with a thick, conical bill for cracking seeds. They forage on or just above the ground with a distinctive double scratch, kicking both feet backward at once to clear leaf litter and expose seeds and insects. The mostly streaked brown plumage camouflages the birds against dry grass and scrub, while the nest, low in vegetation or on the ground, is woven from grass and rootlets. Song varies considerably across the range of a single species, with local dialects that young birds pick up from neighbouring singers.

Native species 43 species

Species that occur here by nature: breeding birds, winter visitors and passage migrants. They are arranged by genus, in the sequence of the list.

Amphispizopsis 1 species

Amphispiza 1 species

Calamospiza 1 species

Chondestes 1 species

Spizella 5 species

Ammodramus 1 species

Arremonops 1 species

Peucaea 4 species

Spizelloides 1 species

Passerella 1 species

Junco 2 species

Zonotrichia 4 species

Pooecetes 1 species

Artemisiospiza 2 species

Ammospiza 4 species

Passerculus 1 species

Centronyx 2 species

Melospiza 3 species

Aimophila 1 species

Melozone 3 species

Pipilo 3 species