White-crowned Sparrow

The White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a species of passerine bird native to North America. A medium-sized member of the New World Sparrow family, this species is marked by a grey face and black and white streaking on the upper head. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name Zonotrichia is from the zone, “band”, and thrix, trikhos, “hair”, and the species name leucophrys is from leukos, “white”, and ophrus, “eyebrow”. The
name itself is extremely descriptive of the bird.

About White-Crowned Sparrows

When you think of Sparrows, I’m sure you think of small, sweet, singing birds. Sparrows are the embodiment of innocence and they’re extremely sweet to look at. It is a blessing that Sparrow populations have risen over the past few years, making them easier to spot now. As a bird watcher, Sparrows are a must-see bird, especially White-crowned Sparrows, that is not just adorable, but extremely diligent.

White-crowned Sparrows are an extremely interesting species. Did you know that White-crowned Sparrows are known for their natural alertness mechanism? This same mechanism allows them to stay awake for up to two weeks during their migration period. In fact, this is so useful, that this effect has been studied for possible human applications, such as shift-work drowsiness or truck driving.

These little birds affect us more than we realize, and so, this makes them the crowned jewel of bird-watching. Who doesn’t want to see a magnificent creature that can stay awake for 2 weeks straight, like some sort of small adorable avian vampire.

This is why we have compiled a whole bunch of necessary information on this little creature, to make it easier to not just spot them, but to study and understand them and their nature. The best way to spot a bird is to study the bird and understand its habits, allowing you to truly differentiate between species and identify what you’re looking for. For this purpose, this article will teach you a plethora of things about White-crowned Sparrows.

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

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White-crowned Sparrow Color Pattern

First impressions of White-crowned Sparrows tend to be of a plain, pale-gray bird. Next, your eye is drawn to the very bold black-and-white stripes on the head and the pale pink or yellow bill. It is imperative to learn this bird’s size and shape so you’re ready to identify young birds that have brown, not black, markings on the head.

White-crowned Sparrows are a distinctive bird species with bold black and white stripes on their heads. 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 have streaks all over their body 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.

Description and Identification

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.

White-crowned Sparrow Song

The song of the White-crowned Sparrow is one of the most-studied sounds in all of animal behavior. Different subspecies across the land sing clearly different songs, but they’re all recognizable by the sweet, whistling introduction, a succession of jumbled whistles, and a buzz or trill near the end. Their songs last around 2-3 seconds, and the females of this species sing only rarely.

Apart from songs, they also make other distinctive sounds. White-crowned Sparrows have about 10 different calls. The most frequently heard includes a sharp pink, which is lower-pitched than the White-throated Sparrow’s call. It’s usually made by males or as an alarm call near the nest. They also make a harsh, rasping call used by Sparrows during altercations.

White-crowned Sparrow Size

This species averages at 5.9-6.3 inches in length, with wings that span 8.3-9.4 inches. The average weight of adults of the White-crowned Sparrow species is around 25-28 grams, making them birds that are on the lighter and smaller spectrum.

White-crowned Sparrow Behavior

White-crowned Sparrows are generally found in flocks of their own and other species outside the breeding season. Flocks of White-crowned Sparrows fan out into open ground away from sheltering bushes as they feed, flying back to cover in a wave if disturbed. They forage on the ground in open areas, with sheltered thickets nearby for cover. They use a two-footed scratching maneuver to locate food in the leaf litter that surrounds them.

White-crowned Sparrows are seen hopping across the ground and through low foliage in brushy habitats. You may see them “double-scratching,” a move they share with towhees involving a quick hop backward to turn over leaves followed by a forward hop and pounce. When these birds arrive on their breeding grounds males and females quickly pair, then wait until the snow has melted enough to begin nest building. At the end of summer, the pairs break up and winter separately, but when both members of the pair return the next summer, about two-thirds of the pairs re-form. Young birds move very little for the first few days after they leave the nest, and don’t typically learn to fly until a week or so later. Siblings can stay with each other for more than two months after fledging.

You’ll see White-crowned Sparrows low at the edges of brushy habitat, hopping on the ground or on branches usually below waist level. They’re also found in open ground (particularly on their breeding grounds) but typically with the safety of shrubs or trees nearby.

White-crowned Sparrow Diet

These birds forage mainly while hopping and running on the ground. Sometimes they feed up in low shrubs, and occasionally they will make short flights catch insects in mid-air. Except during nesting season, when they usually forage in flocks.

White-crowned Sparrows eat mainly seeds of weeds and grasses, plus considerable numbers of caterpillars, wasps, beetles, and other insects during the summer. They also eat grains such as oats, wheat, barley, and corn, and fruit including elderberries and blackberries.

They apparently feed mostly on seeds in winter, mainly those of weeds and grasses. White-crowned Sparrows eat other vegetable matter at various seasons, including buds, flowers, moss capsules, willow catkins, berries, and small fruits. They also eat many insects and spiders, especially during the summer. The young of the White-crowned Sparrow species are fed mostly insects.

White-crowned Sparrow Habitat

Look for White-crowned Sparrows in places where safe tangles of brush mix with the open or grassy ground for foraging. White-crowned Sparrows breed in open or shrubby habitats, including tundra, high alpine meadows, and forest edges. Patches of bare ground and grasses are important characteristics. During winter and migration these Sparrows frequent thickets, weedy fields, agricultural fields, roadsides, and backyards.

Range and Migration

White-crowned Sparrows are either resident or medium-distance migrants. White-crowned Sparrows that breed in Alaska and arctic Canada spend the winter over much of the continental U.S. and Mexico. Birds along the Pacific Coast and in parts of the interior West don’t migrate.

White-crowned Sparrow Lifecycle

White-crowned Sparrows on average lay 4-5 eggs, sometimes 3, and rarely 2-6. Their eggs are creamy-white to pale green and have a lot of reddish-brown spots. Females are the only ones to incubate the eggs. The incubation period lasts around 11-14 days, usually 12. Both the parents are seen feeding their nestlings, although females may do more at first. The young of this species leave the nest about 7-12 days after hatching, with those in the far north tending to leave earlier than those farther south. Males may care for fledglings while females begin their 2nd nesting attempt. White-crowned sparrows have 1 brood per year in the far North, and 2-3 (or even 4) broods farther south.

Once these birds leave their nests, they go on to lead full lives. The oldest White-crowned Sparrow being at least 13 years, and 4 months old.

Nesting

In the southernmost coastal populations, pairs of White-crowned Sparrows may remain together all year on permanent territories. Elsewhere, males arrive on nesting grounds before females and defend their territories by singing.

In the North, their nest sites are usually on the ground at the bases of shrubs or grass clumps, often placed in shallow depressions in the ground. Along the West Coast, their nests are often placed a few feet up in shrubs. The nests are built by females of the species and are open cups made of grass, twigs, weeds, rootlets, and strips of bark, lined with fine grass, feathers, and animal hair. White-crowned Sparrow nests are typically fairly low, placed 1.5 to 10 feet high in shrubs, particularly for Pacific Coast birds. Across the arctic and subarctic portions of the species’ range, White-crowned Sparrows nest on the tundra and have little choice but to put their nests on the ground, hidden among mats of mosses, lichens, and ground-hugging shrubs.

Females build nests out of twigs, coarse grasses, pine needles, moss, bark, and dead leaves. They line the nest cup with fine grasses and hairs. The finished product is about 5 inches across and 2 inches deep. It takes the female 2-9 days to complete, making it a labor of love for these small little birds.

Anatomy of a White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrows are a larger sparrow species with small bills and long tails. Their heads can look distinctly peaked or smooth and flat, depending on the bird’s attitude. These birds are distinct in their color pattern, and the shape of their bodies. These birds have bold black and white stripes on their heads, with clear, gray breasts and bellies, long tails, and wings that have two distinct white wing-bars. Their beaks are orange-yellow to
reddish-brown. 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. This makes it easy to tell the difference between young birds and older birds.

Final Thoughts

The White-crowned Sparrow is a winter bird across much of the U.S (exceptions are the West Coast and mountains of the West). Start looking for these birds to arrive sometime in September, and they’ll be in fields, along roadsides, in low foliage at trail edges, or hopping around the margins of your yard until March or April.

These birds are absolutely magnificent and prove themselves to be really beneficial to humans, with their tireless migrating and alertness. Humans have much to learn from this species, that can run on a treadmill at a pace of about one-third of a mile an hour without tiring out!

Luckily for us, White-crowned Sparrows are listed as “Least Concern” in the IUCN, making them one of the most common winter Sparrows. This makes it a little easier to spot them since they seem to have a decent-size population and a great range!

It is imperative to know a bird and its behaviors to help identify it while bird-watching. Spotting White-crowned Sparrows is a dream for bird-watchers everywhere, and now that you know a lot more about these fascinating creatures, that dream can come true for you!

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 White-crowned Sparrows

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing White-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.

White-crowned Sparrow Iron On Patches

Kids, Youth, and Adults love to collect our Bird Watching Academy & Camp iron on patches. Our bird watching patches help you keep track of the birds you have seen an identified. You can also display the patches on our Bird Watching Academy & Camp banners.

The White-crowned Sparrow is a great iron on patch to start your collection with. The patches are durable and can be sewn on or ironed on to just about anything.

White-crowned Sparrow Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the White-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 ForWhite-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 HousesForWhite-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.