Population status

Harris's Sparrow
(Zonotrichia querula)

Because the Harris's Sparrow breeds in Canada's far north, it is not covered by the Breeding Bird Survey. However, the Harris's Sparrow is well covered by the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), since it winters almost entirely in the United States. CBC data indicate the species has experienced a large and continuing decrease in population with an approximate 59% loss of abundance since the early 1970s. The most recent population estimates indicate about 2,000,000 individuals (COSEWIC 2017d). The Harris' Sparrow is below the lowest acceptable level relative to its national population goal (see North America graph below).

Population goal and acceptable levels of variation

Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

Additional information on: Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

References

• COSEWIC. 2017d. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Harris’s Sparrow Zonotrichia querula in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. x + 36 pp. COSEWIC. 2017d. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Harris’s Sparrow Zonotrichia querula in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. x + 36 pp. (Link)
• Norment, C.J., S.A. Shackleton, D.J. Watt, P. Pyle, and M.A. Patten. 2016. Harris's Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula), version 3.0. In: The Birds of North America (P.G. Rodewald, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. Norment, C.J., S.A. Shackleton, D.J. Watt, P. Pyle, and M.A. Patten. 2016. Harris's Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula), version 3.0. In: The Birds of North America (P.G. Rodewald, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. (Link)