WhenToBird

Aimophila ruficeps · Passerellidae

When Do Rufous-crowned Sparrows Arrive in California?

Adult Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Photo: Dan Fitzgerald (Fitz), CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Rufous-crowned Sparrows reach California in mid January, are common by mid February, peak in late April (2.0% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsJan 15-21mid January
Common byFeb 15-21mid February
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: late April. First arrivals mid January; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 2.0% of California checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Deccommon

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.7% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.7% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.7% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.8% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.8% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.8% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.0% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.0% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.1% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.3% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.3% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.7% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.9% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.0% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.0% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.9% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.6% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.8% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.6% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.5% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.4% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.4% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.2% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.1% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.0% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.0% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.9% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.9% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.1% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.9% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.8% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.8% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.9% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.7% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.8% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.7% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.7% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.7% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.7% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.9% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.1% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.9% of 124993 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in California that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sutter CountyBest the second week of August · 64 checklists that week, 4,996 in all12%
  2. Nevada CountyBest early September · 420 checklists that week, 25,896 in all9.0%
  3. Tulare CountyBest late March · 820 checklists that week, 28,366 in all8.1%
  4. Madera CountyBest the second week of April · 322 checklists that week, 11,452 in all7.9%
  5. Napa CountyBest early May · 402 checklists that week, 18,976 in all6.7%
  6. Solano CountyBest the second week of May · 623 checklists that week, 25,325 in all6.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Santa Teresa County Park (west)Santa Clara County, best the second week of April · 90 checklists that week, 864 in all82%
  2. Box Springs Mountain ParkRiverside County, best late October · 20 checklists that week, 439 in all81%
  3. Modjeska Canyon and Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary (Flores Peak)Orange County, best early April · 24 checklists that week, 169 in all81%
  4. Lake FreySolano County, best late April · 22 checklists that week, 159 in all77%
  5. Pacific Crest Trail National Scenic Trail (Yellow Rose Spring)San Diego County, best late April · 43 checklists that week, 219 in all76%
  6. Marin Municipal Water District WatershedMarin County, best early May · 26 checklists that week, 242 in all75%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In California, the Rufous-crowned Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.1% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 2.5% of 186053 checklists7 am: 1.9% of 444086 checklists8 am: 1.4% of 535846 checklists9 am: 1.1% of 486061 checklists10 am: 0.9% of 411130 checklists11 am: 0.8% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 0.9% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0.7%0.7%0.7%0.8%
February0.8%0.8%0.7%1.0%
March1.0%1.1%1.3%1.3%
April1.7%1.9%2.0%2.0%
May1.9%1.6%1.8%1.6%
June1.5%1.4%1.4%1.2%
July1.1%1.0%1.0%0.9%
August0.9%1.1%0.8%0.9%
September0.8%0.8%0.9%0.8%
October0.8%0.7%0.8%0.7%
November0.7%0.7%0.7%0.7%
December0.7%0.9%1.1%0.9%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: arrives mid February, 4 weeks later than California
  • New Mexico: year-round, peaks late July
  • Oklahoma: arrives late February, 5 weeks later than California
  • Texas: arrives late January, 1 week later than California

Common questions

When do Rufous-crowned Sparrows arrive in California?
Rufous-crowned Sparrows reach California in mid January, are common by mid February, peak in late April (2.0% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Rufous-crowned Sparrows leave California?
Most Rufous-crowned Sparrows have left California by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of November.
When is the best time to see a Rufous-crowned Sparrow in California?
The Rufous-crowned Sparrow is reported most often in late April, on about 2.0% of California checklists.
Where in California are Rufous-crowned Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Sutter County, Nevada County, and Tulare County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Rufous-crowned Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).