WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW GALLERY
(Zonotrichia leucophrys)
eBird offers this description of the White-crowned Sparrow: Large, long-tailed sparrow. Breast is plain gray without streaks. Bill color varies from yellow to pink, but always brighter than White-throated Sparrow. Adults have bold black-and-white head pattern and are gray from throat to belly. Immatures are browner. Often in brushy areas, hopping on ground or in low shrubs. Visits feeders.
All About Birds adds the following description of the White-Crowned Sparrow: White-crowned Sparrows appear each winter over much of North America to grace our gardens and favorite trails (they live in parts of the West year-round). The smart black-and-white head, pale beak, and crisp gray breast combine for a dashing look – and make it one of the surest sparrow identifications in North America. Watch for flocks of these sparrows scurrying through brushy borders and overgrown fields, or coax them into the open with backyard feeders. As spring approaches, listen out for this bird’s thin, sweet whistle.
I saw my first White-crowned Sparrow on the morning of April 16, 2020 at Scout Pond in Warbler Woods. The trees, bushes, and brush pile near Scout Pond were full of several types of Sparrows that morning, and it was a real challenge for this novice to figure out the identities of the various species. But it was so much fun!
“Cool Facts” About the White-crowned Sparrow From All About Birds…
- A young male White-crowned Sparrow learns the basics of the song it will sing as an adult during the first two or three months of its life. It does not learn directly from its father, but rather from the generalized song environment of its natal neighborhood.
- A migrating White-crowned Sparrow was once tracked moving 300 miles in a single night. Alaskan White-crowned Sparrows migrate about 2,600 miles to winter in Southern California.
- Scientists interested in movement and energetics have discovered that White-crowned Sparrows can run on a treadmill at a pace of about one-third of a mile an hour without tiring out.
- White-crowned Sparrows will share their territories with Fox Sparrows, but chase Chipping Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos until they leave.
- Male White-crowned Sparrows do most of the singing, but sometimes females also sing. They usually do this while contesting breeding territories or a winter food source. Their songs are quieter and more variable than male’s songs.
- Because male White-crowned Sparrows learn the songs they grow up with and typically breed close to where they were raised, song dialects frequently form. Males on the edge of two dialects may be bilingual and able to sing both dialects.
- The oldest recorded White-crowned Sparrow lived in California and was at least 13 years, 4 months old.