Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata

Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California, March 2018, taken within the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Southern Arizona.

Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California, March 2018, taken within the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Southern Arizona.

Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata. Photographs taken within the greater Bahía de los Ángeles area, Baja California, January 2024. Photographs courtesy of George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles, Baja California. Identifications courtesy of Mary & George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles.

Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata. Photograph taken within a residential community in Hereford, Arizona, May 2011. Photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Behrstock, Sierra Vista, Arizona (naturewideimages.com).

Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata. Photograph taken within the greater Palm Springs area of southern California, March 2021. Photography courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

The Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, is a member of the Passerellidae Family of New World Sparrows. They are small in stature. In Mexico they are found within the Atlantic Slope to southern Tamaulipas and within the Pacific Slope throughout the Baja and from northern Sinaloa south on the central plateau to Guanajuato and Hidalgo at elevations below 2,200 m (7,200 feet). From a conservation perspective the Black-throated Sparrow is currently considered to be of Least Concern with widely distributed populations; however, populations are currently decreasing. They are found in semi-open arid desert and shrubland. They consume insects, spiders and seeds.