The White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a medium-sized sparrow native to North America.
Appearance
Adults are 18 cm (7 in) long and have black and white stripes on their head, a grey face, brown streaked upper parts and a long tail. The wings are brown with bars and the underparts are grey. Their bill is pink or yellow. They are similar in appearance to the White-throated Sparrow but do not have the white throat markings.
Breeding
Their breeding habitat is brushy areas across northern Canada and the western United States. They nest either low in bushes or on the ground under shrubs and lay 3-5 brown-marked grey or greenish-blue eggs.
Subspecies
There are five currently recognized subspecies of white-crowned sparrow (pugetensis, gambelii, nuttalli, oriantha, and leucophrys), varying in migratory behaviour and breeding habitat. The Nuttall's subspecies are permanent residents in California, while the Gambel's subspecies may migrate as far as the Arctic Circle during the summer breeding season. Northern birds migrate to the southern United States.
Vagrancy
White-crowned Sparrow is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. One was present in County Cork, Ireland in May 2003.[2] Another was found in Norfolk, England in January 2008.[3]
Behavior
These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation, but sometimes make short flights to catch flying insects. They mainly eat seeds, other plant parts and insects. In winter, they often forage in flocks.
The song of the White-crowned Sparrow has been much studied because of its many dialects, but the pugetensis subspecies sounds similar to "You can't come and catch me!"citation needed
Images
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Adult White-crowned Sparrow
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The juvenile (first winter) plumage is more muted than the adult
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References
External links
Further reading
Books
- Chilton, G., M. C. Baker, C. D. Barrentine, and M. A. Cunningham. 1995. White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys). In The Birds of North America, No. 183 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.
- Kroodsma DE, Baker MC, Baptista LF & Petrinovich L. (1985). Vocal "dialects" in Nuttall's white-crowned sparrow. In Johnston, R F [Editor] Current Ornithology 103-133, 1985. Plenum Press, 233 Spring Street, New York, New York.
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