Hey Jerry,

It is a shame that the current Sibley doesn't include the subspecies names (e.g., gambelii); however, they can be found in this on-line supplement: http://www.sibleyguides.com/subspecies.htm.

Gambel's Sparrow, or Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow, is another name for the West Taiga subspecies. According to Birds of North America, it breeds "over much of Alaska, n. mainland Canada, British Columbia east of Cascade Mtns." Our Eastern White-crowned (East Taiga) breeds "south and east of Hudson Bay; n. Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland." 

Also from Cornell (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/WHCSPA/) - "'Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow' breeds in a wide variety of habitats including farmland, alpine meadows, shrubbery, dwarf conifer forests, and tundra edge. The tundra ranges extends from Hudson Bay west through Alaska, north to the limits of the tree line, and south through British Columbia. This sparrow winters throughout the West but is prone to wander widely and has been recorded in the East. This form has pale lores and orange bills." (Information about the other four subspecies is also available at this site, if interested.)

According to the MD/DCRC database (http://www.mdbirds.org/mddcrc/pdf/mddatabase.pdf), there are four accepted records of this subspecies, with a number of others recirculating or reviewable. There are 20 total reports starting in 1944, then jumping to 1961 and 1965. Starting in 1999, reports of the subspecies have been annual. Nine of the reports are from Chino Farms in Queen Anne's Co., which I'd assume are mostly of banded individuals. Reports are from as early as October 3rd to as late as May 7th.

Good birding,

Bill
 
Bill Hubick
St. Denis, Baltimore Co., Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com


----- Original Message ----
From: Gerald & Laura Tarbell <>
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Gambel's Sparrow - Location correction


Bill and all,
    Since I had never heard of "Gambel's White-crowned", I grabbed my
Sibley - the big one, not the little one. Apparently he never heard of it
either. He mentions an east and west Taiga and a Interior West. Is Gambel's
a new sub-species or a renamed old one? Is it the same as one of the ones
mentioned?

    Jerry Tarbell
    Carroll County