Amphispiza bilineata
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The black-throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in Mexico and the United States. The black-throated sparrow was formally described in 1850 with the binomial Emberiza bilineata. Elliott Coues erected the new genus Amphispiza in 1874 with the black-throated sparrow as the type species.
Several other species including the five-striped sparrow (Amphispizopsis quinquestriata) and what are now Bell's sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli) and the sagebrush sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis) were previously also assigned to Amphispiza. These reassignments left the black-throated sparrow as the only member of the genus. They were adopted by the American Ornithological Society (AOS), the IOC, the Clements taxonomy, and AviList. However, as of late 2025 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) retains the five-striped sparrow in Amphispiza with the black-throated.
The black-throated sparrow's further taxonomy is unresolved. The IOC, AviList, and HBW assign it these nine subspecies: The Clements taxonomy adds a tenth subspecies, A. b. carmenae (Van Rossem,... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 8 | Cabo Pulmo National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 9 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-throated Sparrow sighting in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 167 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 104th most-seen of the 237 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-throated Sparrow in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in February, April, July–August and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-throated Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Black-throated Sparrow sightings, El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Joshua Tree National Park (United States, about 80%), Saguaro National Park (United States, about 50%) and Big Bend National Park (United States, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Passerellidae
The closest relatives of the Black-throated Sparrow that you can see in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (family Passerellidae, New World Sparrows) are Savannah Sparrow (about 40%), White-crowned Sparrow (about 20%) and Green-tailed Towhee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-throated Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (167 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.
