Five-striped Sparrow
| Amphispiza quinquestriata | Order: Passeriformes | Family: Emberizidae (Buntings and New World Sparrows) |
Amphispiza quinquestriata
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae (Buntings and New World Sparrows)
This bird of western Mexico makes it into the U.S. in just a few spots in Arizona and New Mexico. Most American birders have seen their first at the California Gulch in the Pajarito Mountains within the Coronado National Forest, 19 miles west of Nogales, 13 miles southeast of Arivaca, and just 1.8 miles from the Mexican border. It’s accessed by an extremely rugged road down into a wash. That’s where I saw my first in 1995, before I had a camera for bird photography. I saw my next one, flying past, in 2019, when Laurens Halsey took me to a stakeout spot in Box Canyon near the Mexican border–we heard three singing. This time the drive was much MUCH easier.