Zonotrichia querula
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Harris's sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) is a large sparrow. Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada (primarily the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, ranging slightly into northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan), making it Canada's only endemic breeding bird. In the winter they migrate to the Great Plains states of the United States, from southern South Dakota to central Texas. The common name of this species commemorates the American amateur ornithologist Edward Harris (1799–1863).
This species is the largest of the sparrows in the family Passerellidae, though other superficially dissimilar species in the family may slightly exceed them in size. They range in total length from 17 to 20 cm (6.7 to 7.9 in), with a 27 cm (11 in) wingspan and weigh from 26 to 49 g (0.92 to 1.73 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 7.7 to 9.2 cm (3.0 to 3.6 in), the tail is 7.6 to 8.8 cm (3.0 to 3.5 in), the bill is 1.1 to 1.4 cm (0.43 to 0.55 in) and the tarsus is 2.2 to 2.5 cm (0.87 to 0.98 in).
This is a very distinctive looking species. Breeding plumage birds have conspicuous pink bills and black on the crown, face, throat and upper breast, contrasting... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Harris's Sparrow sighting in Vancouver on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 106th most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Harris's Sparrow in Vancouver on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Vancouver's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain against 25 mm in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Harris'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.
Among the best
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Harris's Sparrow sightings, Vancouver ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Tijuana (México, under 5%) and Dallas (United States, under 5%).
Same genus: Zonotrichia
The closest relatives of the Harris's Sparrow that you can see in Vancouver (genus Zonotrichia, Zonotrichia Sparrows) are White-crowned Sparrow (about 30%) and Golden-crowned Sparrow (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Harris's Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Vancouver (12 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.
