Brewer's Sparrow

Brewer's Sparrow

Spizella breweri

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at San Diego

In 3 days <5%

55 Verified sightings at San Diego
4,412 In all 20 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Brewer's Sparrow

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 →

Sounds

Song1:11

United States · 2023

© Scott Olmstead · XC872128 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:22

United States · 2022

© Paul Marvin · XC703913 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:35

United States · 2012

© Andrew Spencer · XC188668 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
2 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
7 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
8 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Cabo Pulmo National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
11 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
12 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
13 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
14 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
15 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
16 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
17 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
18 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
19 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
20 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mesa 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Phoenix 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
3 Las Vegas 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
4 Torreón 🇲🇽 México
<5%
5 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
6 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
7 Monterrey 🇲🇽 México
<5%
8 Los Angeles 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 San Diego 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Austin 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Brewer's Sparrow in San Diego?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brewer's Sparrow sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 55 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 314th most-seen of the 386 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Brewer's Sparrow in San Diego?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brewer's Sparrow in San Diego on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Brewer's Sparrow?

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.

Is San Diego the best place to see a Brewer's Sparrow?

9th of 12

Of the 12 cities where we can rate Brewer's Sparrow sightings, San Diego ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Mesa (United States, about 10%), Phoenix (United States, under 5%) and Las Vegas (United States, under 5%).

Where does the Brewer's Sparrow sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Brewer's Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in San Diego (55 verified sightings), 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.

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