White-Throated Sparrow

Common Name:
White-Throated Sparrow
Scientific Name:
Zonotrichia albicollis
Type:
Birds
Size:
Length: 6.8 inches
IUCN Red List Status:
Least concern
Current Population Trend:
Stable

This woodland sparrow of the East frequents feeders or feeds along woodland edges, darting for cover if disturbed. It may reemerge in response to pishing and can occur in large flocks (up to 150) in winter. Monotypic. Length 6.8".

Identification

Conspicuously outlined white throat; mostly dark bill; dark crown stripes, eye line. Broad yellow eyebrow in front; remainder white. Upperparts rusty brown; underparts grayish, sometimes diffuse streak­ing. Note fairly common morph: some adults with tan supercilium and median crown stripe; difficult to distinguish from first-­winter plum­age. First-­winter: tan su­per­­­­cil­ium and me­di­an crown stripe; ill-defined white throat patch, often prominent malar stripe. Juvenile: grayish eyebrow, throat; breast, sides heavily streaked.

Similar Species

See white-crowned sparrow.

Voice

Call: a sharp pink, like the white-crowned’s but higher. Flocking birds give husky chatter. Flight note: drawn-out, lisping tseep. Song: thin whistle, generally 1 to 2 single notes, followed by 3 to 4 long notes, sometimes tripled: pure sweet Canada Canada Canada. Often sings in winter.

Status and Distribution

Common. Some winter south to northern Mexico. Winter: common in woodland undergrowth, brush, gardens. Breeding: clearings in deciduous or evergreen forests, bogs. Migration: spring late March–mid-May, peaking mid-April; fall mid-September–early November, peaking mid-October. Rare but regular in migration and winter in the West. Vagrant: casual to northern Alaska.

Population

Stable.

—From the National Geographic book Complete Birds of North America, 2006

Go Further