The
White-throated Sparrow (
Zonotrichia albicollis) is a
passerineA passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
of the
American sparrowAmerican sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
family
EmberizidaeThe Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds.They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as buntings....
.
The White-throated Sparrow is a
passerineA passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
of the
American sparrowAmerican sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
family
EmberizidaeThe Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds.They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as buntings....
. The White-throated Sparrow is 17 cm (6.75 inches) in length with a wingspan of 23 cm (9 inches) Typical weight is 26 grams (0.91 oz).
There are two adult plumage variations known as the tan-striped and white-striped forms. On the white-striped form the crown is black with a white central stripe.
The
White-throated Sparrow (
Zonotrichia albicollis) is a
passerineA passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
of the
American sparrowAmerican sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
family
EmberizidaeThe Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds.They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as buntings....
.
Description
The White-throated Sparrow is a
passerineA passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
of the
American sparrowAmerican sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
family
EmberizidaeThe Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds.They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as buntings....
. The White-throated Sparrow is 17 cm (6.75 inches) in length with a wingspan of 23 cm (9 inches) Typical weight is 26 grams (0.91 oz).
There are two adult plumage variations known as the tan-striped and white-striped forms. On the white-striped form the crown is black with a white central stripe. The supercilium is white as well. The auriculars are gray with the upper edge forming a black eye line.
On the tan form, the crown is dark brown with a tan central stripe. The supercilium is tan as well. The auriculars are gray/light brown with the upper edge forming a brown eye line. Both variations feature dark eyes, a white throat, yellow lores and gray bill. There is variation and some individuals may show dark lateral stripes of each side of the throat.
They almost always pair with the opposite color morph for breeding. The two color morphs occur in approximately equal numbers. Both male and female white-striped birds are more aggressive than tan-striped birds during the breeding season.
The breast has gray/tan streaks and the streaks continue down the flanks but the belly is generally light gray. The wings are rufus with two distinct white wing bars. Sexes are morphologically similar.
Reproduction
White-throated Sparrows breed in central
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
. They nest either on the ground under shrubs or low in trees in deciduous or mixed forest areas and lay 3-5 brown-marked blue or green-white eggs.
Wintering and Migration
In winter, it
migratesBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. These however are usually irregular or in only one direction and are termed variously as nomadism, invasions,...
to the southern and eastern
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. This bird is a rare
vagrantVagrancy is a phenomenon in biology whereby individual animals appear well outside their normal range; individual animals which exhibit vagrancy are known as vagrants. The term accidental is sometimes also used...
to western
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
.
Diet
These birds forage on the ground under or near thickets or in low vegetation. They mainly eat seeds, insects and berries.
Song and calls
There are at least two distinct songs sung by this species. One consists of an initial note, followed by three or so repeated notes at an interval of about a major third above. The second song consists of an initial note, a second a whole step lower, and a third note, repeated 2-3 times, about a minor third below that. This second song is commonly described by use of mnemonics with the
cadenceCadence may refer to:In music:*Cadence , a melodic configuration or series of chords marking the end of a phrase, section, or piece of music*Cadenza, a long, unaccompanied, freely played, and sometimes improvised solo passage in a concerto...
of "Po-or Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody" (or "O-oh sweet Canada, Canada, Canada") The rhythm is very regular, and the timbre could be described as pinched. These musical intervals are only approximate; to a human ear the song often sounds out of tune. The repeated note will often change in pitch very slightly, contributing to this effect.
The White-throated Sparrow also has at least two calls, in addition to its song.
External links