White-throated Sparrows are passing through

Photos by Barry Wallace

Every day for a week now there has been at least a half dozen White-throated Sparrows below the Niger seed feeder in the backyard. They are expected to migrate through at this time of year and they are right on schedule.   What is a little different is that instead of seeing mostly the white-striped form or morph, we are getting mostly the tan-striped form or morph. This has not happened before - never.   In the photo at top, there is a tan-striped type of the White-throated Sparrow in the rear, while the bird in front is a White-crowned Sparrow.   Below that photo is a photo of a white-striped type of the White-throated Sparrow.   Year after year I'm sure we always see more of the white-striped type during migrations and it seems the white form is generally dominate over the tan form.   A breeding pair usually contains one bird from each morph, either a white male and a tan female, or a tan male and a white female.   It matters not however how many there are of each type, as all sparrows are more than welcome in our backyard.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB