Rusty Sparrow

SCI Name:  Aimophila rufescens
Protonym:  Pipilo rufescens Philos.Mag.n.s. n.s., 1 p.434
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Passerellidae / Aimophila
Taxonomy Code:  russpa1
Type Locality:  Temiscaltipec [= Temascaltepec] , Mexico, Mexico.
Author:  Swainson
Publish Year:  1827
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

AIMOPHILA
(Passerellidae; † Rusty Sparrow A. rufescens) Gr. αιμος aimos  copse, thicket; φιλος philos  lover; alluding to the scrubby habitats favoured by these American sparrows; "Aimophila, Sw.   Bill more lengthened, unequally conic, compressed: the base of the culmen elevated and dividing the frontal feathers.  Upper mandible slightly notched at the tip, and thicker at the base than the under one: commissure sinuated: culmen slightly arched from the base.  Wings short, rounded; the two first quills graduated.  Tail moderate, rounded; the feathers rather narrow.  Feet strong.  The lateral toes nearly equal.  Claws slender, slightly curved.   America only.    G. rufescens. Part 5. No. 102.   superciliosa. Ib. No. 101." (Swainson 1837 (July)); "101.  AIMOPHILA superciliosa.  Above, sparrow brown, striped with black; beneath, cinereous grey  ...  Inhabits Mexico.   ...   102.  AIMOPHILA rufescens.  Above, rufous brown, unspotted; beneath, greyish white  ...  Inhabits Mexico." (Swainson 1837 (Dec.)); "Aimophila Swainson, Nat. Hist. & Classif. Bds., 2, p. 287, July, 1837 (generic characters only); ²  idem, Anim. in Menag., p. 314, Dec. 31, 1837—type, by subs. desig. (Gray, List Gen. Bds., p. 46, 1840), Aimophila rufescens Swainson = Pipilo rufescens Swainson.   ...    ² The two species cited by Swainson were at the time undescribed, and were not characterized until six months later.  Gray designated A. rufescens, one of the two species described by Swainson in "Anim. in Menageries" in connection with the generic name Aimophila, as genotype." (Hellmayr, 1938, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. XI, p. 516).
Synon. Haemophila.

aimophila / aimophilus
Gr. αιμος aimos  copse, thicket; φιλος philos  loving  < φιλεω phileō  to love  < φιλος philos  lover.

rufescens
L. rufescens, rufescentis  reddish  < rufescere  to become reddish  < rufus  red.
● ex “Aigrette rousse de la Louisiane” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 902, “Aigrette rousse” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Reddish Egret” of Pennant 1785, and Latham 1785 (Egretta).
● ex “Gobe-mouche roux de Cayenne” (= ♀) of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 453, fig. 1, and de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Rufous Fly-catcher” of Latham 1783 (syn. Pachyramphus rufus).
● ex “Red-backed Pelican” of Latham 1785 (Pelecanus).
● ex Tringa fulicaria Linnaeus, 1758, and “Phalarope roussâtre” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Phalaropus fulicarius).
● ex “Ynambú guazú” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 326 (Rhynchotus).
● ex “Crombec” or “Figuier à Bec Courbi” of Levaillant 1803, pl. 135 (Sylvietta).

SUBSPECIES

Rusty Sparrow (antonensis)
SCI Name: Aimophila rufescens antonensis
antonensis
Sierra de San Antonio, north-central Sonora, Mexico.

Rusty Sparrow (mcleodii)
SCI Name: Aimophila rufescens mcleodii
mcleodii
Richard Randall McLeod (fl. 1899) US collector in Mexico 1883-1888 and Arizona 1898 (subsp. Aimophila rufescens, Nyctiphrynus).

Rusty Sparrow (rufescens)
SCI Name: Aimophila rufescens rufescens
rufescens
L. rufescens, rufescentis  reddish  < rufescere  to become reddish  < rufus  red.
● ex “Aigrette rousse de la Louisiane” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 902, “Aigrette rousse” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Reddish Egret” of Pennant 1785, and Latham 1785 (Egretta).
● ex “Gobe-mouche roux de Cayenne” (= ♀) of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 453, fig. 1, and de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Rufous Fly-catcher” of Latham 1783 (syn. Pachyramphus rufus).
● ex “Red-backed Pelican” of Latham 1785 (Pelecanus).
● ex Tringa fulicaria Linnaeus, 1758, and “Phalarope roussâtre” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Phalaropus fulicarius).
● ex “Ynambú guazú” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 326 (Rhynchotus).
● ex “Crombec” or “Figuier à Bec Courbi” of Levaillant 1803, pl. 135 (Sylvietta).

Rusty Sparrow (pyrgitoides)
SCI Name: Aimophila rufescens pyrgitoides
pyrgitoides
Gr. πυργιτης purgitēs  sparrow; -οιδης -oidēs  resembling.
● "Hæc species coloribus pleribusque Americæ septentrionalis passerinis aut emberizis affinis, attamen alarum brevitate, rostri pedumque forma cum Embernagris medius congruit" (de La Fresnaye 1839) (subsp. Aimophila rufescens).

Rusty Sparrow (pectoralis)
SCI Name: Aimophila rufescens pectoralis
pectorale / pectoralis
L. pectoralis  of the breast, pectoral  < pectus, pectoris  breast.
● ex “Engoulevent à collier” of Levaillant 1806 (Caprimulgus).
● ex “Janfréderic” of Levaillant 1801-1804, pl. 111 (syn. Cossypha caffra).
● ex “Austral Quail” of Latham 1823 (Coturnix).
● ex “Gold-breasted Manakin” of Latham 1801 (Euphonia).
● ex “Petit Merle brun à gorge rousse de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 644, fig. 2, and “Yellow-breasted Thrush” of Latham 1785 (syn. Gymnopithys rufigula).
● ex “Red-breasted Snipe” of Montagu 1813 (syn. Limnodromus griseus).
● ex “Black-breasted Flycatcher” of Latham 1787 (Pachycephala).
● ex “Mbatuitui pecho listado” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 389 (syn. Pluvialis dominica).
● ex “Tachurí pecho amarillo” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 165 (Polystictus).
● ex “Black-breasted Grosbeak” of Latham 1783 (syn. Sporophila americana).
● ex “Cordon Noir” of Levaillant 1805, pl. 150 (artefact).
● ex “Hausse-Col Noir” of Levaillant 1802, pl. 110 (artefact).

Rusty Sparrow (discolor)
SCI Name: Aimophila rufescens discolor
discolor / discolorus
L. discolor, discoloris  of different colours, parti-coloured, various   < color, coloris  colour.
● ex “Grand Coucou de Madagascar” of Brisson 1760, “Vouron-Driou” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “African Cuckow cum var. A” of Latham 1782 (Leptosomus).
● ex “Tangavio du Buenos-Ayres” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 710, and “Tordo común” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 61 (syn. Molothrus bonariensis).
● See: dicolorus 

Rusty Sparrow (hypaethra)
SCI Name: Aimophila rufescens hypaethra
hypaethra / hypaethrus
Gr. ὑπαιθρος hupaithros in the open air  < ὑπο hupo  beneath; αιθηρ aithēr  clear sky.