Stripe-headed Sparrow

The stripe-headed sparrow (Peucaea ruficauda) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found from Mexico to Costa Rica. == Taxonomy and systematics == The stripe-headed sparrow was formally described in 1853 with the binomial Chondestes ruficauda. It was later reassigned to genus Aimophila. Genus Peucaea had earlier been merged into Aimophila; in 2010 taxonomic systems began restoring Peucaea to generic status and moved the stripe-headed sparrow and several other species from Aimophila to it. The stripe-headed sparrow's further taxonomic history is unsettled. The International Ornithologists' Union, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it these four subspecies: P. r. acuminata (Salvin & Godman, 1886) P. r. lawrencii (Salvin & Godman, 1886) P. r. connectens (Griscom, 1930) P. r. ruficauda (Bonaparte, 1853) The Clements taxonomy assigns a fifth subspecies, P. r. ibarrorum (Dickerman, 1987), that the others include within P. r. ruficauda. Within the species it calls P. r. acuminata the "stripe-headed sparrow (northern)" and groups the other four subspecies as the "strip-headed sparrow (southern)". This article follows the four-subspecies model. == Description == The stripe-headed sparrow is 15 to 19.5 cm (5.9 to 7.7 in) long and…