Harris's Sparrow

Zonotrichia querula

Harris's sparrow is a large sparrow. Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada, making it Canada's only endemic breeding bird. In the winter they migrate to the Great Plains states of the United States, from southern South Dakota to central Texas. The common name of this species commemorates the American amateur ornithologist Edward Harris (1799–1863). Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 13,850 times across 28 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 16°C (typically 14 to 20°C, from 9 areas).

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in North America ranged from 37°N in January to 52°N in May, about 1,600 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.