Associated Species: Other species that may use habitat in a similar way and/or respond similarly to threats, management, and conservation activities include Sage Grouse, Sage Thrasher, and Brewer's Sparrow.

Distribution: Sage Sparrows breed from western Wyoming west to central Washington, and as far south as north-central New Mexico in the east and Baja in the west; they also occur in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. In Colorado, Moffat County has the greatest concentration of Sage Sparrows, with Mesa, Montrose, and Montezuma counties having smaller concentrations. Sage Sparrows have a very limited distribution in Colorado outside of Physiographic Area 87, occurring only uncommonly in the mountain parks. Sage Sparrows' elevational range is narrower than that of the other sagebrush obligate species and is at the low to middle elevations of sagebrush. They winter in the Southwest U.S., Baja California, and northern Mexico.

Habitat Requirements: Sage Sparrows breed almost exclusively in sagebrush (especially big sagebrush), or sagebrush mixed with other shrubs. They prefer semi-open to dense stands of evenly-spaced to clumped, 0.5 to 2 m (1.5-6.5 ft) tall sagebrush (Knick and Rotenberry 1995). As ground feeders, they prefer only a modest amount of understory vegetation. Like the Brewer's Sparrow, they require large, contiguous sagebrush stands. Not all necessary habitat features have been identified, however, as they are often absent from areas where the habitat otherwise appears suitable.

Ecology: Most individuals of this species arrive in Colorado by April, initiate nesting by May, and fledge young during June and July. Most birds leave the state by mid October. Their diet consists primarily of insects and spiders, but they also eat some grass and forb seeds and small fruits.

Management Issues and Conservation Recommendations: Sage Sparrows prefer large patches of sagebrush, and may need patches of continuous habitat of at least 130 ha (320 ac); however, at least one study has shown that this species will accept the loss of up to 50% of the shrubs to wildfire or prescribed fire, provided the landscape pattern is a mosaic of burned and unburned areas (Petersen and Best 1987).

Status and Reasons for Concern: This species is on the national Watch List, indicating a high conservation need throughout its range. Within Physiographic Area 87, BBS data do not show a statistically significant annual rate of change between 1969 and 1996 (P = 0.68; n = 23 routes). Sage Sparrows were present on an average of 14.82% (SE = 2.65) of the BBS routes run in Physiographic Area 87 in Colorado during 1989-1997, at an average abundance of 2.97 (SE = 0.74) individuals per route. The mean number of routes run each year was 11.4 (SE = 1.55). This species is monitored by MCB with tracking transects.

Biological Objective: Maintain or increase Sage Sparrows' distribution and abundance, based upon results of the BBS and MCB monitoring programs.

Selected References: Andrews and Righter 1992, Kingery 1998, Knick and Rotenberry 1995, Martin and Carlson 1998, Petersen and Best 1985.