White-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys

 Content and photos by James Giroux – except where indicated

The word “dashing” is typically not used to describe members of the sparrow family. But, the word is applicable for the White-crowned Sparrow. Like most sparrows, it is not flashy – except for the head. The black and white stripes give it a sophisticated, formal-dinner-party look that makes it one of the easiest sparrows to ID.

But… there are a couple caveats to this easy ID.  1) There is another sparrow that sports a black-and-white crown – the White-throated Sparrow. However, it should be easy enough to distinguish the two birds because the White-throated has a yellow lore, and a white throat as shown below.

White-throated Sparrow – photo by Greg Lasley

2) The White-crowned Sparrow in its first winter has a brown and beige crown, and can be confused with Chipping Sparrow and Field Sparrow.  But, weighing in at a full ounce they average twice the weight of the half-ounced Chipping and Field!

First-winter White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrows are widespread throughout the United States, but they are only in Texas during the winter. While in Texas they readily come to feeders, and are usually in groups that contain adults and first-winter birds.

The song of the White-crowned Sparrow is one of the most studied sounds in all animal behavior. It is a high pitched thin whistle and is similar in pitch and timbre to the White-throated Sparrow. However it lacks the syllables (Oh Sweet Canada-Canada) of the White-throated song. The males learn the song from their surrounding community in the first 2-3 months of their lives. There are several subspecies of White-crowned Sparrow, and birds that grow up where subspecies intermingle often sing the two dialects.  Most female bird species do not sing, but the female White-crowned will sometimes sing to protect a breeding area, or a winter food source. Their songs are not as loud, but are often more variable.

Depending on the year, White-crowned Sparrows can be abundant or scarce in the Austin area. Commons Ford Park and Reimer’s Ranch are great places to see them. They are here until the first week of May, and then leave us for Canada.

Sources:
https://allaboutbirds.org
https://eBird.org