Zonotrichia querula
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
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 Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 157th most-seen of the 181 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Harris's Sparrow in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–September and November–April, the lowest months.
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.
Yes
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Harris's Sparrow sightings, Riding Mountain National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Death Valley National Park (United States, under 5%) and Grand Canyon National Park (United States, under 5%).
Same genus: Zonotrichia
The closest relatives of the Harris's Sparrow that you can see in Riding Mountain National Park (genus Zonotrichia, Zonotrichia Sparrows) are White-throated Sparrow (about 70%) and White-crowned Sparrow (about 10%), 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 Riding Mountain National Park (24 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.
