Spizella breweri
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
Brewer's sparrow (Spizella breweri) is a small, slim species of American sparrow in the family Passerellidae. This bird was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer. Adults have grey-brown backs and speckled brown crowns, both with dark streaks, and a pale eye-ring. Their wings are brown with light wing bars and the underparts are pale grey. Their bill is pale with a dark tip and they have a long notched tail. They are similar in appearance to the clay-colored sparrow (S. pallida) but do not have a pale stripe on the crown or grey neck patch.
Measurements: Length: 5.1–5.9 in (13–15 cm) Weight: 0.4–0.5 oz (11–14 g) Wingspan: 7.1–7.9 in (18–20 cm) The male sings to defend a nesting territory. The song is a long varied mix of notes and trills. Males have two distinct types of songs – classified as short and long songs.
There are two distinct subspecies: Brewer's sparrow proper, Spizella breweri breweri Found in brushy areas, especially with sagebrush, in southern parts of western Canada and in the western United States. Timberline sparrow, Spizella breweri taverneri
Found in thicketed areas around the tree line in the Rockies of British Columbia... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 8 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Cabo Pulmo National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 11 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 12 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 17 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 19 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brewer's Sparrow sighting in Banff National Park on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 139th most-seen of the 191 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brewer's Sparrow in Banff National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brewer's Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
16th of 20
Of the 20 parks where we can rate Brewer's Sparrow sightings, Banff National Park ranks 16th at under 5%. The best odds are in Joshua Tree National Park (United States, about 40%), Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%) and Grand Teton National Park (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brewer's Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Banff National Park (29 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
