Amphispiza bilineata
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
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 |
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Black-throated Sparrow sighting in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, based on 4,270 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 141 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and June
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Black-throated Sparrow in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, against about 40% in September, the lowest month.
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.
Yes
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Black-throated Sparrow sightings, Joshua Tree National Park has the highest daily chance: about 80%. Next come 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 Joshua Tree National Park (family Passerellidae, New World Sparrows) are White-crowned Sparrow (about 60%), Brewer's Sparrow (about 40%) and Dark-eyed Junco (about 20%), 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 Joshua Tree National Park (4,270 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.
