Birds of North Carolina
their Distribution and Abundance
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
PASSERELLIDAE Members: Harris's Sparrow 522
General Comments
This largest of all sparrows has a rather narrow migration route, from its northwestern Canada boreal forest/tundra edge habitat south to the southern Great Plains. Even so, the Harris's Sparrow has perhaps been recorded from essentially all 50 states, and North Carolina has ten records that span the state. Four of the five spring records are clustered in late Apr; there are also four records from late fall and early winter, and one for the entire winter.
Breeding Status
Nonbreeder
NC BRC List
Definitive
State Status
none
U.S. Status
Definitive
State Rank
SZ
Global Rank
G5
Coastal Plain
Casual (only in recent years) near the coast, in migration. One adult was seen at Cape Lookout (Carteret) on 24 Apr 2000 (Chat 64:159). One in mostly adult plumage was seen and photographed at Winnabow (Brunswick), 20-25 Apr 2004 (Chat 69:32). Another adult was seen at Oregon Inlet (Dare) on 1 Nov 2004 (Chat 69:59). Lastly, one was photographed at a feeder in Kill Devil Hills (Dare) for several days in late Apr 2010 (Chat 74:95). Photographs of the Winnabow and Kill Devil Hills birds are on the Carolina Bird Club Photo Gallery.
Piedmont
Casual. One immature was found at Beaverdam Reservoir (Wake) on 21 Nov 1976 (Chat 42:60); one adult was at Tryon (Polk) on 30 Dec 1976 (Chat 42:61); one adult was seen by numerous birders in northern Durham, 21 Apr - 4 May 1991 (Chat 56:53); and one was photographed in Burke on 1-2 Jan 2024* (Chat 90:3). A report of a "flock of 46" seen in Wilkes, as reported in Pearson et al. (1959), is certainly an error.
Mountain
Casual. One immature male was collected in the Mills River Valley (Buncombe) on 13 Mar 1933 (T.G. Pearson et al., The Birds of North Carolina [rev. ed. 1959]). An individual was seen at a feeder in Swannanoa (Buncombe), 5-12 Jan 1981 (Chat 45:84). Most notable was one that spent the entire winter of 2023-24 at Warren Wilson College (Buncombe), noted from 21 Dec - 7 May* (Chat 88:45), (Chat 88:56), (Chat 88:76).
Finding Tips