Although at least seven Sage Sparrow subspecies have been described, the species has generally been regarded as comprising five distinct subspecies (AOU 1957). Nominate belli is resident in chaparral from the inner northern Coast Ranges of California south to the coast in Marin County, and south along the coast and foothills through northern Baja California, west of the Sierra Juárez and Sierra San Pedro Mártir, to Santa Catarina Landing at 29°30′ N. Isolated populations occur in the western Sierra Nevada from El Dorado County south to Mariposa County (Grinnell and Miller 1944).