Chordates • Earth.com

Sierra Madre sparrow

(Xenospiza baileyi)

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Description

The Chingolo serrano or sparrow zacatero serrano ( Xenospiza baileyi ) is a species of passerine bird of the family Passerellidae.It is an endemism of Mexico,in danger of extinction.Adults measure an average of 12 cm in length from beak to tail.It belongs to the monotypic genus Xenospiza.It looks similar to the marsh sparrows (genus Ammodramus ) and in fact some scientists include it within that genus.It shares with them the reddish color in the dorsal region and the white in the ventral region,as well as the abundant streaking.However,it is distinguished by the comparatively long and little pointed tail,in addition to its habitat,restricted to alpine pastures in very high regions.It lives in areas rich in pastures,whether in open fields,in forests,or in the vicinity of bodies of water.It is distributed in temperate highlands in western and central Mexico,very localized in the Sierra Madre Occidental (states of Jalisco and Durango ) and in the Neovolcánico axis ( Morelos,State of Mexico and the Federal District ).It is extremely rare,and its habitat is threatened by the creation of grazing areas.BirdLife International believes that the population is declining,and therefore the species could soon be considered critically endangered.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Emberizidae
Genus:Xenospiza
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