Slate-colored fox sparrow
| Slate-colored fox sparrow | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Emberizidae |
| Genus: | Passerella |
| Species: | P. (iliaca) schistacea |
| Trinomial name | |
|
Passerella iliaca schistacea group Baird, 1858 |
|
| Subspecies | |
|
2–5, see text |
|
 |
|
| Breeding ranges of the four fox sparrow groups | |
2–5, see text
The slate-colored fox sparrow (Passerella (iliaca) schistacea) group comprises the Rocky Mountain taxa in the genus Passerella. It is currently classified as a "subspecies group" within the fox sparrows pending widespread acceptance of species status.
It has long been suspected to be a separate evolutionary lineage due to morphological distinctness (Swarth 1920). More recently, it has been split into the present clade and the thick-billed fox sparrow. These are morphologically quite similar, but can be readily distinguished according to mtDNA sequence and haplotype data. (Zink 1994) However, these results were considered tentative (Rising & Beadle 1996) until more molecular data and apparent lack of wide-ranging hybridization coupled with ecological differences and adaptations led to confirmation of their distinctiveness (Zink & Kessen 1999); this group appears to be most closely related to the red fox sparrows (Zink & Weckstein 2003 contra Zink 1996), judging from biogeography.
It is found to breed in mountainous regions from the interior of northwest British Columbia to Nevada and eastern California (Rising & Beadle 1996). It is a tiny-billed bird with a gray head and mantle, brown wings, brown breast streaks, and a russet tail.
Like all "fox sparrow" subspecies, it is differentiated into some morphologically recognizable allopatric populations, which are still genetically indistinguishable due to their recent evolution (Zink 1994).
...
Wikipedia