Green-backed Sparrow

About the Green-backed Sparrow

The green-backed sparrow (Arremonops chloronotus) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. The green-backed sparrow was formally described in 1861 with the binomial Embernagra chloronatus. Eventually it was reassigned to genus Arremonops that Robert Ridgway erected in 1896, and for much of the first half of the twentieth century it was treated as conspecific with A. conirostris, now called the black-striped sparrow.

The green-backed sparrow has two subspecies, the nominate A. c. chloronotus (Salvin, 1861) and A. c. twomeyi (Monroe, BL, 1963). The green-backed sparrow is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 24 to 31 g (0.85 to 1.1 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a mostly slate gray head with wide black or brownish black strips on each side of the crown, a black or brownish spot in front of the eye, and a long black or brownish stripe behind the eye. Their upperparts, tail, and wings are bright olive green with canary yellow on the edge of the wings. Their chin and throat are dull white, their breast... Wikipedia →