Late September and throughout October, bird migration is at its peak. BirdCast estimates that over 60 million birds have migrated through our area so far this migration season.
Among those migrating birds was the White-crowned Sparrow.
White-crowned Sparrows breed in Alaska and arctic Canada, but spend the winter over much of the continental U.S. and Mexico. As with many migrating birds, they mostly travel at night. Spring migration occurs from mid-March to mid-May; while fall migration occurs from early September to mid-November.
White-crowned sparrows are unusual looking. They have a white head – i.e., “white-crowned – with distinct stripes. One look at these bold, black head stripes, and you’ll know it can only be a White-crowned Sparrow. They are medium-sized sparrows. The upperparts of its body are brown-streaked, while its underparts are plain gray. There is a small white patch on their throat. Wings are brown with two pale bars. The White-crowned Sparrow averages just over six inches in length. And their wingspan is nine inches. They weigh in at around one ounce.
White-crowned Sparrows are busy visitors to backyard feeders – or the ground below. You will find these birds hopping across the ground and through low foliage doing their “double scratching” foraging for food. “Double-scratching,” involves a quick hop backwards to turn over leaves followed by a forward hop and pounce.
While you are more likely to see a White-crowned Sparrow hopping along the ground, they will be seen on short flights with rapid wing beats. Their flight pattern is “flap-bound” where they alternate several rapid wing beats (“flap”) with wings drawn to sides (“bound”).
White-crowned Sparrows are common each winter across North America. The key habitat features of their breeding territories include grass, bare ground for foraging and dense shrubs or small conifers thick enough to provide a roost and conceal a nest, standing or running water, and sometimes tall coniferous trees.
According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the White-crowned Sparrow has seen slight decreases in populations and is classified as "Low Concern". Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population at 79 million.
The song of the White-crowned Sparrow is one of the most-studied sounds in all of animal behavior. Their song is recognizable by the sweet, whistling introduction, a succession of jumbled whistles, and a buzz or trill near the end. Here is a link to the sounds of the White-crowned Sparrow.
Interesting Facts About the White-crowned Sparrow:
A young male White-crowned Sparrow learns the basics of the song it will sing as an adult during the first two or three months of its life.
A migrating White-crowned Sparrow was once tracked moving 300 miles in a single night. Alaskan White-crowned Sparrows migrate about 2,600 miles to winter in Southern California.
White-crowned Sparrows will share their territories with Fox Sparrows, but chase Chipping Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos until they leave.
The oldest recorded White-crowned Sparrow was approximately 13 years old.
The White-crowned Sparrow is one of the best-studied songbirds in North America. Much of our knowledge of bird song and development is based on studies of this species.
Four of the five subspecies are migratory. The sedentary race lives in a very narrow band along the California coast.
A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a "crew", "flutter", "meinie", "quarrel", and "ubiquity" of sparrows.
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