sage sparrow

noun

1. a small gray finch, Amphispiza belli, of dry, brushy areas of western North America.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sage sparrow¹

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

If you’re quiet, you’ll hear the wind roll across the valley, or maybe the bell-like clink of a sage sparrow in a nearby bush.

From Los Angeles Times

And the birds — the wrentit, the scrub jay, the sage sparrow — taking flight to . . . where exactly?

From Washington Post

“Let’s get another drink and think about it,” I said, but my skin was already buzzing with anticipation, thinking about the crow I’d get on my inner arm to match the one on his forearm, and the sage sparrow he’d talked about getting on his chest, like the one he'd drawn for me as a gift when we first started dating.

From Los Angeles Times

There, scientists found comparatively higher losses among the Brewer's sparrow and the sage sparrow, with the estimated rate of decline at six birds for every 10 additional wells per square kilometer.

From Reuters