Stripe-headed Sparrow, Peucaea ruficauda

Stripe-headed Sparrow, Peucaea ruficauda. Photograph taken in the greater Puerto Vallarta area, Guerrero, March 2014. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

The Stripe-headed Sparrow, Peucaea ruficauda, is a member of the Passerellidae Family of New World Sparrows. They are small in stature. In Mexico there are two subspecies – the first is found in the coastal regions within the Pacific Slope of southern Durango to southern Zacatecas south to southeast Guerrero, east to Morelos and south to Puebla; the second within the Pacific Slope of Oaxaca and Chiapas at elevations up to 1,400 m (4,600 feet). From a conservation perspective the Stripe-headed Sparrow is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found in xeric glasslands with scattered trees. They consume seeds, small insects, spiders, and seasonal fruits.