White-crowned Sparrow

Adults are 18 cm 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.

Picture of the White-crowned Sparrow has been licensed under a GFDL
Original source: Own work / http://www.pbase.com/image/83910026
Author: Wolfgang WanderCamera location
Permission: GNU Free Documentation License

The White-crowned Sparrow is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

The white-crowned sparrow is a widespread bird and despite some regional variations in its plumage color and markings, it is one of the easiest sparrows to identify. More

race of the white-crowned sparrow on Fletcher's Ice Island (T-3) on June 16, 1957, when it was at 82o37' N., 99o50' W., only 150 miles from the North Pole and some 2,000 miles beyond the nearest nesting habitat of the species, as reported by Spencer Apollonio (1958). Because unusual observational opportunities are required to recognize such events, we are less aware of them than the facts probably warrant. More

North American RangeThe White-crowned Sparrow is a distinctive bird with bold black and white stripes on its head. It has a clear, gray breast and belly, long tail, and wings distinctly marked with two white wing-bars. The beak is orange-yellow to reddish-brown depending on the subspecies. Young birds are streaked overall until August, when they take on a juvenile plumage similar to the adult; they have brown and tan head stripes rather than black and white, which they keep until the spring. More

The White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a medium-sized sparrow native to North America. More

* White-crowned Sparrow, Perched on a Timber Global Rank: G5 State Rank: S5B Agency Status USFWS: none USFS: none BLM: none FWP Conservation Tier: 3 PIF: none Listen to an Audio Sample Copyright by Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, More

The White-crowned Sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow which is found in North America. Preferred breeding habitats of the species include brushlands found in northern Canada and the western United States. Nests are built in low bushes or on the ground, camouflaged by low vegetation. Northern populations will migrate in winter months to the southern United States. They are rarely occurring in western Europe. Food is found on the ground or gleaned from bushes. More

On a broad band across the west, the Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow is also migrating north now. It will breed in interior British Columbia, western Alberta, and Alaska. These birds sing during migration. The songs of the various populations across North America are different. Indeed, songs can be slightly different even within populations, as young birds learn to sing whatever local dialect they hear. White-crowned SparrowPuget Sound White-crowned Sparrow, Hayward, Oregon on 16 May 2008 by Greg Gillson. More

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. More

The White-crowned Sparrow is a great friend of mine and his three note song is one of my favorites. So, if you see a bird with the distinct markings shown in my sketch, you can feel pretty confident that you are looking at the grown-up White-crowned Sparrow. More

Dictionary: white-crowned sparrow (hwīt'kround', wīt'-) pronunciation Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary n. A North American sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) having a pearly gray breast and a black-and-white striped crown. Home of Wiki & Reference Answers, the world’s leading Q&A siteReference AnswersEnglish▼English▼ Deutsch Español Français Italiano Tagalog * * Search unanswered questions... More

The call of the White-crowned Sparrow has many dialects, but the pugetensis subspecies sounds similar to "You can't come and come and catch me!" Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org. - Related Web Resources: White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia Leucophrys (USGS - Id Tips, Map, Photos, etc.) ... Birds of Nova Scotia ... BirdNature. More

Because White-crowned Sparrows nest in our area, they sing nearly all day long during spring and summer. White-crowned Sparrow Sound Clip - To listen to a sound file and view a waveform and spectrogram image click here. Who Teaches White-crowned Sparrows Their Song? - One would think that the father is the teacher of the song. However, research provides a completely different story. More

White-crowned SparrowThe white-crowned sparrow is 6-7 inches in length with a wingspan of 8-9 inches. It has two black stripes black stripes that run along the crown of its head and behind its eyes and a white stripe on its forehead that runs between the two black stripes. It has a pearly gray breast and belly and brown streaked upper parts. More

White-crowned sparrow is a large sparrow but a small songbird. Adult is unmistakable, having unmarked ash-grey sides of head, throat and breast, becoming white on belly, and pale brownish-buff on flanks, head pattern striking with bright white median crown-stripe and supercilium, black crown sides, eye-stripe and lores, and mainly pinkish bill. White-crown feathers often fluffed up into a low ruffled dome. Legs are brown to pink. Eyes are dark. Both sexes are alike in plumage. More

The handsome White-crowned Sparrow fits into this category. Knowing that this bird is an infrequent visitor and that it may have traveled from as far north as the arctic, makes it one of our most welcome of winter guests. Essentially a ground feeder, the white-crowned normally eats insects, seeds and fruiting capsules of moss. During the winter it is drawn to multi-flora rose hedges where it as on the hips. It will also visit feeding areas where scratch corn and seeds have been scattered. More

fully-mature White-crowned Sparrow is shown in the photo to the right. Immature (first-year) birds typically have less bold markings on the head (see photos at the bottom of the page). Habitat: Forest edges, brush, thickets, parks, residential areas, farms. Can be found in nearly any brushy location during its migration through the state. Diet: Mostly seeds, other vegetable matter, and insects. Many insects in summer, mostly seeds in the winter. More

Picture of Zonotrichia leucophrys above has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike.
Original source: Wolfgang Wander
Author: Wolfgang Wander
Permission: Some rights reserved
Order : Passeriformes
Family : Emberizidae
Genus : Zonotrichia
Species : leucophrys
Authority : (Forster, 1772)