Distribution

Endemic resident in montane grasslands of northwestern and central Mexico, where it occurs through the Sierra Madre Occidental to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, from eastern Sonora and southwestern Chihuahua south to Michoacán, Morelos, Puebla, and west-central Veracruz, and disjunctly in central Oaxaca (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close , 2 Byers, C., J. Curson, and J. Olsson (1995). Sparrows and Buntings: A Guide to the Sparrows and Buntings of North America and the World. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY, USA. Close , 1 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. Close , 21 Forcey, J. M., and R. Aragón (2009). Notes on Oaxacan birds. Huitzil 10(2): 38–47. Close ). Seen and/or collected in 21 states of Mexico (28 Carrillo Martínez, D. A. (2019) Redescubriendo al zacatonero rayado (Oriturus superciliosus) en la Sierra Fría, Aguascalientes, México, y notas de su comportamiento. Huitzil, Revista Mexicana de Ornitología 20(2): e-516. Close ), including Aguascalientes (29 Salvin, O., and F. D. Godman (1889). Notes on Mexican Birds. Ibis 31: 232–243. Close , 28 Carrillo Martínez, D. A. (2019) Redescubriendo al zacatonero rayado (Oriturus superciliosus) en la Sierra Fría, Aguascalientes, México, y notas de su comportamiento. Huitzil, Revista Mexicana de Ornitología 20(2): e-516. Close ), Chihuahua (30 Allen, J. A. (1893). List of mammals and birds collected in Northeastern Sonora and Northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, on the Lumholtz archaeological expedition, 1890-92. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 5:27–42. Close , 20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Colima (28 Carrillo Martínez, D. A. (2019) Redescubriendo al zacatonero rayado (Oriturus superciliosus) en la Sierra Fría, Aguascalientes, México, y notas de su comportamiento. Huitzil, Revista Mexicana de Ornitología 20(2): e-516. Close ), Durango (31 Salvin, O. and F. D. Godman (1886) Biologia Centrali-Americana. Aves. Volume 1. London: Taylor & Francis. Close , 32 Sharpe, R. B. (1888). Catalogue of the Passeriformes, or Perching Birds, in the Collection of the British Museum. Volume 12. Fringilliformes. Part III, containing the family Fringillidae. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London, UK. Close , 33 Miller, W. D. (1906). List of birds collected in northwestern Durango, Mexico, by J. H. Batty, during 1903. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 22:161-183. Close ), Guanajuato (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Hidalgo (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Jalisco (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Mexico City (29 Salvin, O., and F. D. Godman (1889). Notes on Mexican Birds. Ibis 31: 232–243. Close ), Michoacan (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Morelos (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Nayarit (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Oaxaca (34 Binford, L. C. (1989). A Distributional Survey of the Birds of the Mexican State of Oaxaca. Ornithological Monographs 43. American Ornithologists’ Union. Washington, DC, USA. Close ), Puebla (35 Stone, W. (1890) On birds collected in Yucatan and southern Mexico. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 42: 201-218. Close ), Queretaro (28 Carrillo Martínez, D. A. (2019) Redescubriendo al zacatonero rayado (Oriturus superciliosus) en la Sierra Fría, Aguascalientes, México, y notas de su comportamiento. Huitzil, Revista Mexicana de Ornitología 20(2): e-516. Close ), San Luis Potosi (29 Salvin, O., and F. D. Godman (1889). Notes on Mexican Birds. Ibis 31: 232–243. Close ), Sinaloa (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Sonora (30 Allen, J. A. (1893). List of mammals and birds collected in Northeastern Sonora and Northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, on the Lumholtz archaeological expedition, 1890-92. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 5:27–42. Close ), State of Mexico (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Tlaxcala (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ), Veracruz (36 Sumichrast, F. (1868). The geographical distribution of the native birds of the department of Vera Cruz, with a list of the migratory species. Memoirs read before the Boston Society of Natural History 1: 542–563. Close , 35 Stone, W. (1890) On birds collected in Yucatan and southern Mexico. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 42: 201-218. Close , 37 Chapman, F. M. (1898). Notes on birds observed at Jalapa and Las Vigas, Vera Cruz, Mexico. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 10:15–43 Close ), and Zacatecas (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close ). Typically occurs from 1,500–3,500 m above sea level (1 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. Close , 4 Rising, J. D. (2011). Striped Sparrow Oriturus superciliosus. In Handbook of the birds of the world (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, and D. A. Christie, Editors), Volume 16. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), but may occur as high as 4,300 m (20 Miller, A. H., H. Friedmann, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (Editors) (1957). Distributional Check-List of the Birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. Close , 38 Gómez de Silva, H. (2002). Elevational and winter records of birds on two Mexican mountains. Ornitología Neotropical 13: 197–201. Close ). According to Parker et al. (39 Parker, T. A., III, D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick (1996). Ecological and distributional databases. In Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation (D. F. Stotz, J. W. Fitzpatrick, T. A. Parker III, and D. K. Moskovits, Editors). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA. pp. 113–436. Close ), the center of elevational abundance is in the upper montane zone. This species occurs in the Madrean Highlands zoographic region (39 Parker, T. A., III, D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick (1996). Ecological and distributional databases. In Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation (D. F. Stotz, J. W. Fitzpatrick, T. A. Parker III, and D. K. Moskovits, Editors). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA. pp. 113–436. Close ). Local distribution restricted to specific habitats (see Habitat).

See Systematics: Geographic Variation for details on subspecies distributions.

Extralimital Records

One individual was recorded in central Texas (Williamson County) from 11 January to 7 April 2015 (eBird). Despite extensive photographic evidence (e.g., ML220788471) and numbers of observers, the Texas Ornithological Society Bird Records Committee did not accept the record, "due to questionable origin."

Little information, but habitat loss and fragmentation (see Conservation and Management) has affected distribution at small scales. During an expedition to a portion of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Aguascalientes in 1959, ornithologist N. K. Johnson described the habitat where the Striped Sparrow was collected as "very open and has mountain grassland vegetation, but there are cornfields and grazing lands nearby" (28 Carrillo Martínez, D. A. (2019) Redescubriendo al zacatonero rayado (Oriturus superciliosus) en la Sierra Fría, Aguascalientes, México, y notas de su comportamiento. Huitzil, Revista Mexicana de Ornitología 20(2): e-516. Close ). In 2004, herpetologist J. Sigala-Rodríguez returned to the same area and found a young oak forest and no montane grassland habitat (40 Sigala-Rodríguez, J. J., and H. W. Greene (2009). Landscape change and conservation priorities: Mexican herpetofaunal perspectives at local and regional scales. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 80(1): 231–240. Close ), suggesting a localized change in Striped Sparrow distribution within Aguascalientes.