Sparrows and Buntings

Species of sparrows are among the more common species of birds that visit seed-bearing feeders. This is particularly true during the wintertime, when natural seeds can be difficult to find because of the snowpack. Bird-feeding has a significant economic impact, with millions of dollars being spent each year in North America to purchase and provision backyard feeders.

Some species of sparrows are fairly easy to keep in captivity, and they are kept as pet cagebirds. Especially commonly kept are species of Emberiza buntings, particularly in Europe.

Some sparrows have become rare and endangered because of changes in their habitat caused by humans. In the United States, certain subspecies of the seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus) have been affected in this way. The dusky seaside sparrow (A. m. nigrescens) was a locally distributed bird of salt marshes on the east coast of Florida, and was once considered to be a distinct species (as Ammospiza nigrescens), but recent taxonomists have lumped with related birds within a seaside sparrow "superspecies." Unfortunately, the dusky seaside sparrow became extinct in 1987, when the last known individual, a male bird, died in captivity. This bird became extinct as a result of losses of habitat through drainage and construction activities, and perhaps toxicity due to the spraying of insecticides to control mosquitoes in its salt-marsh habitat, which was close to places used for tourism and residential land-uses. The closely related Cape Sable seaside sparrow (A. m. mirabilis) of southern Florida has similarly become endangered, and several of its former populations have been extirpated.

The San Clemente sage sparrow (Amphispiza belli clementeae) is an endangered subspecies of the sage sparrow that is resident to the island of San Clemente off the coast of southern California. This species has suffered because of habitat degradations caused by introduced populations of goats and pigs. The Zapata sparrow (Terreornis inexpectata) is a rare and endangered species that only occurs in two small areas on the island of Cuba.