Ammodramus
Yellow-browed sparrow (A. aurifrons)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passerellidae
Genus: Ammodramus
Swainson, 1827
Type species
Ammodramus bimaculatus[1]
Swainson, 1827
Species

See text

Synonyms

Passerherbulus Maynard, 1895
Palaeostruthus

Ammodramus is a genus of birds in the family Passerellidae, in the group known as American sparrows. Birds of this genus are known commonly as grassland sparrows.[2] The name Ammodramus is from the Greek for "sand runner".[3]

These birds live in grassland habitat. Some Ammodramus are socially monogamous and both parents care for the young. Other species are polygynous with no pair bonding and no paternal care.[4]

Several species have been included in this genus, but have been reclassified into the genera Ammospiza and Centronyx by sources such as Birdlife International and the American Ornithological Society.[5] Current species in this genus include:[2][6][7]

Species

Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution
Grasshopper sparrow Ammodramus savannarum United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
Grassland sparrow Ammodramus humeralis Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Yellow-browed sparrow Ammodramus aurifrons South America

The fossil Ammodramus hatcheri (Late Miocene of Kansas, United States) was formerly placed in genus Palaeospiza or Palaeostruthus. The former may not be a passeriform at all, while the latter was eventually synonymized with Ammodramus, as A. hatcheri scarcely differs from the living species.[8]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ammodramus.
  1. ^ "Passerellidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ a b Ammodramus. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
  3. ^ Beedy, E. C., E. R. Pandolfino, and K. Hansen. Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status, and Distribution. University of California Press. 2013. Page 314.
  4. ^ Hill, C. E., & Post, W. (2005). Extra-pair paternity in seaside sparrows. Journal of Field Ornithology, 76(2), 119-126.
  5. ^ Chesser, R. Terry; Kevin J. Burns; Carla Cicero; Jon L. Dunn; Andrew W. Kratter; Irby J. Lovette; Pamela C. Rasmussen; J.V. Remsen Jr.; Douglas F. Stotz; Benjamin M. Winger; Kevin Winker (2018). "Fifty-ninth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds". The Auk. 135 (3): 798–813. doi:10.1642/AUK-18-62.1.
  6. ^ Ammodramus. Birdlife.org
  7. ^ "BirdLife Data Zone". datazone.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  8. ^ Steadman, D. W., & McKitrick, M. C. (1982). A Pliocene bunting from Chihuahua, Mexico. The Condor, 84(2), 240-241.
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