Golden-crowned Sparrow

A trademark bird of the far West, the Golden-crowned Sparrow is known for their bright golden caps and their melancholic songs that seem to resonate with their scrubby and vast surroundings. These birds were first frequently observed by the gold rush miners that used to mine in those regions in large numbers. The workers often found comfort in their songs or blatant irritation as some rendered their songs as “no gold here” which is a statement that rang true after a couple of years.

About Golden-crowned Sparrows

These birds are some of the more abundant winter birds in the shrublands and urban margins of the California and Oregon valleys. They quickly gained a reputation for being destructive as large flocks would appear at gardens and cultivated lands to feed on vegetables and flowers. Despite mankind’s early interest in the agricultural impacts of this bird, they are one of the more poorly known native passerine birds of North America. Luckily, they are no longer listed as a pest species, making conservation efforts far more viable in recent years. These birds deserve our attention, and today we will be dedicating this post to them. We will be discussing various parts of their lives, including:

● Golden-crowned Sparrow Photos, Color Pattern, Song
● Golden-crowned Sparrow Size, Eating Behavior, Habitat
● Golden-crowned Sparrow Range and Migration, Nesting

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Golden-crowned Sparrow Color Pattern

Breeding adults have a black crown and forehead that is divided by a broad stripe of yellow along the center, with the stripe abruptly changing to light gray on the back of the crown. The sides of their head, throat, and breast are gray to pale gray, sometimes washed with buff. Their flanks are also shaded with hues of brownish buff. The back and the scapulars of these birds are olive-brown and broadly streaked with brownish-black, with their rump a grayish brown and their wings a chestnut brown. Their wings also showcase two thin and white bars. The bill is dark brown to blackish-brown, with their lower mandible much paler. Their crown during the nonbreeding seasons is similar but is far more fuller, with the black on the crown replaced by a varying degree of dark brown.

Although adults of these birds do not exhibit any differences in plumage, some argue that minor differences exist. These differences include females having lateral crown stripes that are narrower and less intensely black, while the median yellow stripe is pale. The gray on the back of their crown may also be diffused with streaked markings and dusky shades. Juveniles are fully colored, with their head pattern obscure and their crown finely streaked. Some individuals also show almost no yellow on the center of the crowns. Their breast and flanks are also streaked with dusky marks.

Description and Identification

Between fall and spring, look for this large sparrow in shrublands and weedy fields of the West Coast. It might be hopping around on the ground while scratching through leaf litter, perching to eat seeds in weedy vegetation, sometimes singing even in winter. Their vivid and vibrant golden cap is unmistakable to the naked eye. To see this bird during summer, you will need to visit the wilds of Alaska and far western Canada.

Golden-crowned Sparrow Song

Their songs consist of three clearly whistled notes that descend in a minor key, sometimes described as “oh, dear me”. Their calls include the alarm call, which is a loud chink, along with three other calls that have been described as “chip, churr”, and “plear, plear, plear”. These calls are generally given out while they are feeding. One of their other most commonly heard calls is a flat “tchup”, or a hard penk, uniquely different from the calls uttered by White-crowned Sparrows. While there is no data on the vocal developments of these radiant birds, it is presumed that nestlings also give out a begging call when they want their parents to bring them food. Due to the lack of resources on the lives and habits of these birds, the vocal habits of Golden-crowned Sparrows have been poorly studied and have left ornithologists with very little data to work with.

Golden-crowned Sparrow Size

Golden-crowned Sparrows are large, long-tailed Sparrows that are about 5.9–7.1 inches long. They have small heads, but short and stout conical bills that are ideal for eating seeds. They weigh about 1.1–1.2 ounces, making them heavier than many Sparrows. These proportions make them smaller than an American Robin, but larger than a Yellow-rumped
Warbler.

Golden-crowned Sparrow Behavior

Golden-crowned Sparrows spend much of their time on the ground or among low branches. They make direct, low flights with fast wingbeats from one patch of shrubbery to the next and fly down or run into vegetation when alarmed. They also take direct, rapid wing beats but remain low over the ground for short distances.

In winter flocks they commonly squabble over food, raising their crown feathers and running at each other. Although they do not hold territories during the winter, they maintain distinct regions of the feeding ground for themselves. In the summer they seem to be less aggressive while feeding, though they do defend breeding territories with the same intensity. While bouts of chasing are common during hostile interactions, fights rarely ever get physical. The closest they come to a physical encounter is when the territorial bird is charging towards the intruding bird, with latter eventually dodging at the last moment.

Golden-crowned Sparrows pair up in monogamous relationships, though they have been observed to elusively mate with other birds on occasion. During the breeding seasons, males follow the females constantly. Courtship is also initiated by the males, where they offer a small tuft of dried grass while vocalizing. At feeding sites, Golden-crowned Sparrows defer to California Thrashers, California Towhees, and sometimes Song Sparrows. Their predators include feral cats, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Northern Harriers, Merlins, Northern Pygmy-Owls, Western Screech-Owls, Northern Shrikes, Loggerhead Shrikes, Barn Owls, and Columbian ground squirrels.

Golden-crowned Sparrow Diet

During winter and migration, Golden-crowned Sparrows eat many kinds of seeds, including seeds from geranium, pigweed, starwort, dock, bromegrass, sumac, nightshade, and knotweed. They also eat fruits like apple, grape, elderberry, olive, grains like oats, wheat, barley, corn, buds, flowers, and various types of plant sprouts. The animal portion of their diet includes ants, wasps, bees, moths, butterflies, beetles, crane flies, and termites. Insect prey forms a significant amount of their diets during the breeding season. Often flocking with other members of their own species, Golden-crowned Sparrows hop on the ground and glean food or scratch leaf litter in cultivated fields, orchards, lawns, and gardens. In summer they usually forage alone or with a mate. Though occasionally in small groups with White-crowned Sparrows or Dark-eyed Juncos, often near alder, willow, and evergreen habitat.

Golden-crowned Sparrow Habitat

The Golden-crowned Sparrow breeds in shrubby tundra habitats near the coast or in the mountains in Alaska and north-western Canada. It tends to live near willows, short conifers, and alders, and it gravitates toward moving or standing water. During migration and winter, this Sparrow spends time in brush, riparian thickets, chaparral, and gardens.

Range and Migration

The Golden-crowned Sparrow is common along the western edge of North America. It is a migratory species, breeding from north-central Alaska (including the Aleutian Islands as far west as Unimak Island) and central Yukon south to the north-western corner of the U.S. state of Washington, and wintering from southern coastal Alaska to northern Baja California. It has been recorded as a vagrant in Japan and Russia, and occasionally strays as far as the eastern coast of North America, from Nova Scotia to Florida. In the winter, it is generally found in brushy areas like chaparral, usually within dense shrubs.

Golden-crowned Sparrow Lifecycle

Golden-crowned Sparrows have 1–2 broods in a year, with most populations typically just having one brood. Each brood has a clutch size of 1–2 pale blue to greenish-blue eggs, often speckled with reddish-brown and pale gray. Incubation is probably done by the female, lasting for approximately 11–12 days. During the incubation period, males may bring food to the mate. When they hatch, they are not entirely helpless but are feeble and uncoordinated, with closed eyes and sparse gray down. Both parents feed the nestlings, and the young ones leave the nest at about 9 days.

Nesting

Golden-crowned Sparrows often build their nests on the ground and disguise them with ferns, grasses, forbs, and overhanging branches of low birch, willow, or alder shrubs. Sometimes they build nests in shrubs or small trees, particularly when the ground is still covered with snow. Nests lie within territories established by the males, but it is not known whether males or females choose the specific nest site.

The nest is a thick cup of twigs, dry bark flakes, moss, ferns, leaves, and coarse grasses, set in a depression. The inside of the cup is a few inches across and an inch and a half deep. It may be lined with fine grasses, ptarmigan feathers, and hair from moose, deer, or caribou. The female collects nest material while the male follows her around and sings.

Anatomy of a Golden-crowned Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrows are large, long-tailed Sparrows that are about 5.9–7.1 inches long. They have small heads, but short and stout conical bills that are ideal for eating seeds. They weigh about 1.1–1.2 ounces, making them heavier than many Sparrows. These proportions make them smaller than an American Robin, but larger than a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Final Thoughts

Golden-crowned Sparrows have been so little studied that no one knows how they are responding to human influences. Records from the Christmas Bird Count suggest that the wintering population has risen since the 1960s. The sparrow’s remote breeding sites will probably safeguard it from direct human impacts for the near future, although it is not known how climate change is altering its subarctic habitat. On its wintering grounds, the Sparrow
seems to be most abundant on federally owned land, protecting it somewhat from effects of habitat disturbance. In the early twentieth century, orchard owners made some efforts to control the numbers of Golden-crowned Sparrows, but the species is no longer considered an agricultural pest.

When birds are understudied, it may leave some kind of itch within those who are truly interested in learning all that they can about them. Missing gaps in our present database make room for endless questions, many of which cannot be answered without additional data. Understanding where they stand from a conservational point of view is crucial in
maintaining the hope of learning more about these mysterious birds. While they cannot be tracked, measures to control the threats that affect many birds in the same regions will inevitably have a positive influence on the beloved Golden-crowned Sparrows as well.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At the Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying Golden-crowned Sparrows

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing Golden-crowned Sparrows are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Golden-crowned Sparrow Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Golden-crowned Sparrow. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders ForGolden-crowned Sparrows

There are many types of bird feeders. Bird feeders are a great addition to your backyard. Bird feeders will increase the chances of attracting birds drastically. Both kids and adults will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. There are a wide variety of bird feeders on the market and it is important to find the best fit for you and your backyard.

Bird HousesForGolden-crowned Sparrows

There are many types of bird houses. Building a bird house is always fun but can be frustrating. Getting a bird house for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. If you spend a little extra money on bird houses, it will be well worth every penny and they’ll look great.