My favourite sparrows...

 

Photo by Barry the Birder

White-throated Sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis)

Photo by Barry the Birder

White-crowned Sparrow

(Zonotrichia leucophrys)

I am familiar with many sparrow species but my two favourites are the White-throated Sparrow and the White-crowned Sparrow.   I have seen these two species over several decades whiles living in King Township, on the Oak Ridges Moraine, a few kilometres north of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario.

I particularly like these two species because of their eye-catching appearance with their black and white head markings. 

Both species are commonly found in my part of the world.

The White-throated Sparrow's song is a clear, whistled "Pure Sweet  Canada, Canada, Canada", while the White-crowned Sparrow's song is a series of clear whistles followed by buzzy notes.

The White throated Sparrow's upperparts are streaked, with underparts clear gray.   Its head has black-and-white stripes; sharply defined white throat patch and dark bill.   The White-crowned Sparrow is similar but lacks the white throat patch and is slimmer, with a pink bill.

Both of these largish sparrows are approximately 6 to 7 " (15 to 17 cm.)

Both are well-known across Canada and the U.S.  Generally speaking both species summer in northern Canadian forests and many winter in the lower forests of the U.S., although some White-Crowneds live all-year along the Pacific Coast. 

In the case of the White-Throated Sparrow, two colour morphs are based on head-striping: field studies show that white-striped males tend to mate with tan-striped females, and tan-striped males tend to mate more with white-striped females ( see photo below)...

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder