Olive Sparrow

Arremonops rufivirgatus

eBird gives this description for the Olive Sparrow:  Plain sparrow found in brushy woodlands. Gray overall with greener back, buffy undertail, and brown stripes on head. Fairly long tail. Sexes alike; young birds are buffier and streakier. Common in Mexico; limited range in U.S. Typically seen foraging on the ground. Listen for song; a series of sharp notes that speeds up towards the end.  All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information for the Olive Sparrow:  A little-known sparrow of dense thorn scrub, the Olive Sparrow hops on the ground, never straying far from cover. This large, towhee-like sparrow is gray overall with an olive back and brown stripes on the head. It holds its rather long tail up while foraging for seeds and insects in the undergrowth. In the United States the Olive Sparrow occurs only in southern Texas, but it also occurs south of the border with a patchy distribution into Central America.

I met this discreet little bird on the morning of January 5, 2021 at Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen, Texas.  As per the description above, this bird did not stray far from the cover at the Amphitheatre feeding area.  I was lucky to spot this bird and to get a couple of photos!

Olive Sparrow at the Ampitheatre of Quinta Mazatlan, January 5, 2021.
Another pic of the Olive Sparrow on the morning of January 5, 2021, at Quinta Mazatlan.


“Cool Facts” About the Olive Sparrow From All About Birds:

  • In tropical parts of their range, Olive Sparrows are sometimes found foraging at army ant swarms, where they catch fleeing insects.
  • George N. Lawrence described the Olive Sparrow in 1851 from a specimen collected near Brownsville, Texas.
  • The oldest recorded Olive Sparrow was at least 8 years, 3 months old.