page_title: List of birds of Costa Rica
section_title: New World sparrows
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of Costa Rica / New World sparrows
caption_attribution_description: Zonotrichia capensis&#160;; Parque da Independência, Museu do Ipiranga, São Paulo
context_page_description: Although Costa Rica is a small country, it is in the bird-rich neotropical region and has a huge number of species for its area. The official bird list published by the Costa Rican Rare Birds and Records Committee of the Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica contained 922 species as of August 2019. This number is more than have been recorded in all of the 49 mainland United States and Canada combined. Of those species, seven are endemic, 69 are rare or accidental, and four have been introduced by humans. Another 73 are near-endemic with ranges that include only Costa Rica and Panama. Twenty-seven species, including five of the seven endemics, are globally vulnerable or endangered. Over an area of 51,100 km², an area smaller than West Virginia, this is the greatest density of bird species of any continental American country. About 600 species are resident, with most of the other regular visitors being winter migrants from North America.
  Costa Rica's geological formation played a large role in the diversification of avian species.
context_section_description: Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passerellidae
  Until 2017, these species were considered part of the family Emberizidae. Most of the species are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many of these have distinctive head patterns.
  Ashy-throated chlorospingus, Chlorospingus canigularis
  Sooty-capped chlorospingus, Chlorospingus pileatus (E-R)
  Common chlorospingus, Chlorospingus flavopectus
  Stripe-headed sparrow, Peucaea ruficauda
  Botteri's sparrow, Peucaea botterii
  Grasshopper sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum
  Olive sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus
  Black-striped sparrow, Arremonops conirostris
  Lark sparrow, Chondestes grammacus
  Chipping sparrow, Spizella passerina (A)
  Clay-colored sparrow, Spizella pallida (A)
  Costa Rican brushfinch, Arremon costaricensis (E-R)
  Orange-billed sparrow, Arremon aurantiirostris
  Chestnut-capped brushfinch, Arremon brunneinucha
  Sooty-faced finch, Arremon crassirostris (E-R)
  Volcano junco, Junco vulcani (E-R)
  Rufous-collared sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis
  White-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys (A)
  Savannah sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis (A)
  Lincoln's sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii
  Large-footed finch, Pezopetes capitalis (E-R)
  White-eared ground-sparrow, Melozone leucotis
  Cabanis's ground-sparrow, Melozone cabanisi (E)
  Rusty sparrow, Aimophila rufescens
  White-naped brushfinch, Atlapetes albinucha
  Yellow-thighed brushfinch, Atlapetes tibialis (E-R)
caption: Rufous-collared sparrow
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