Five-Striped Sparrow

My guide, Jake Thompson, took me into the fairly rugged and sparsely vegetated Tumacacori Mountains, up into Rock Corral Canyon, over some roads that my sedan would have had difficulty with. Down at the bottom of a relatively steep hill, in a jumble of desert trees, he began his imitation of the five-striped sparrow call and kept it up for what seemed like 15 or 20 minutes. He would get a view of the sparrow, call me over for some photos, and kept trying. This sparrow is quite distinctive and handsome. It appears to be a tree Jake has visited often as a reliable spot for this species and his lifer seeking clients. 

The five stripes are the two supercilia above the eye, the white stripe under each ear covert and the white stripe down the middle of the chin and throat. The white stripes are separated by black. It has a black spot between its gray chest and white belly. Sexes look alike. 

Illustration from Birds of the World. 

It was first discovered in Arizona in 1957, the year of my birth, and it is not known if it was a result of recent range expansion  or observers searching appropriate habitat. It is a very small population in Arizona, only about 47 to 54 singing males were annually detected in surveys during the early 1990s. Like many of the rarities in southeastern Arizona, it is a Mexican bird that just happens to have crossed the border into similar surroundings. 

Range from Birds of the World.