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Project Noah Nature School
Zonotrichia leucophrys
Adults are 18 cm (7 in) long and have black and white stripes on their head, a gray face, brown streaked upper parts and a long tail. The wings are brown with bars and the underparts are gray. Their bill is pink or yellow. They are similar in appearance to the white-throated sparrow but do not have the white throat markings.
Their breeding habitat is brushy areas across northern Canada and the western United States. The white-crowned sparrow is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.[2] It has been sighted in England, Scotland,[2][3] Ireland,[4] and Norway.[5] Behavior These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation, but sometimes make short flights to catch flying insects. They mainly eat seeds, other plant parts and insects. In winter, they often forage in flocks. White-crowned sparrows nest either low in bushes or on the ground under shrubs and lay three to five brown-marked gray or greenish-blue eggs.
I found this nest in a tree at the Garden Center where I work. They were very fast to hatch and fledge. The adults return every year. They are still hanging around the garden center and I love hearing them call to each other all day.
Spotted on Aug 3, 2014
Submitted on Aug 4, 2014
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