Sagebrush Sparrow

SCI Name:  Artemisiospiza nevadensis
Protonym:  Poospiza belli nevadensis Hist.N.Am.Birds[Baird,Brewer,Ridgway] 1 p.590,594 pl.26 fig.9
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Passerellidae / Artemisiospiza
Taxonomy Code:  sagspa1
Type Locality:  entire area of Middle Provinces of the U. S., east to Green River, Wyoming; northward resident to beyond the parallel of 40° ; type from West Humboldt Mountains, Nevada, vide Ridgway, loc. cit., p. 198.
Author:  Ridgway
Publish Year:  1874
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

ARTEMISIOSPIZA
(Passerellidae; Ϯ Bell's Sparrow A. belli) Botanical genus Artemisia sagebrush  < Gr. myth Artemis or Diana, the moon goddess skilled in the use of hallucinogenic plants; Gr. σπιζα spiza  finch  < σπιζω spizō  to chirp; "The type species of Amphispiza is Emberiza bilineata Cassin; therefore, a new generic name must be provided for belli and its close relatives. Klicka and Spellman (2007) suggested that Artemisospiza [sic] would be an appropriate name for belli, commonly called the Sage Sparrow, but did not propose it formally, as it did not meet the requirements of Article 13 of the ICZN (1999) Code. We now modify that suggestion and propose the following: Artemisiospiza, new genus   Type species. Emberiza belli Cassin.   ... The feminine name combines the Latin generic name for sagebrush (Artemisia, from the Greek word Artemis) with the Greek word for finch (spiza)" (Klicka & Banks 2011); "Artemisiospiza Klicka and Banks, 2011, Zootaxa, 2793, p. 67.  Type by original designation, Emberiza belli Cassin, 1850." (JAJ 2020).
Var. Artemisospiza.

nevadae / nevadensis
● Nevada, USA  < Spanish nevada  snow-covered (subsp. Agelaius phoeniceus, Artemisiospiza, subsp. Passerculus sandwichensis).
● Sierra Nevada, California, USA (syn. Lanius ludovicianus gambeli).