Appearance
Bell's sparrow is difficult to separate in the field from the sagebrush sparrow. Both species measure about 6 in long and weigh approximately 16.5 g . In general, with Bell’s Sparrow the malar is darker than the head while on the sagebrush it is about the same shade of darkish gray. Bell’s Sparrow also has a thicker malar strip than sagebrush. The amount a streaking on the back as well as the shade of the mantle may also be used to separate the two, but this is affected by wear on the feathers. Bell's also has little or no white in the tail, but this field mark alone may not be diagnostic.Bell's sparrows are indeed often tied to sagebrush habitats, although they can also be found in brushy stands of saltbush, chamise, and other low shrubs of the arid west.
The subspecies ''A. b. clementeae'' has been listed as threatened since 1977.
The species' common name and binomial refer to John Graham Bell.
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