A new bird has been at our Regina, Saskatchewan, feeder this week: A White-Crowned Sparrow. At least, I'm convinced there is only one of these sparrows in the midst of all the House Sparrows and House Finches.
This little White-Crowned Sparrow seems shyer than the others, but still quite happy to hang out, sheltering in the lilacs and seeking seeds on the ground.
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| White-Crowned Sparrow in lilac branches © SB |
My new Audubon bird app indicates that White-Crowned Sparrows winter in the southern U.S., and migrate through the Prairies to their summer breeding grounds in the North. My iBird app tells me that the White-Crowned Sparrow is one of the best-studied songbirds in North America; much of our knowledge of bird song (and, says Audubon, of the physiology of migration — which makes me suspect knives in both these studies) comes from this bird.
As neutral as the White Crown's colouring is, this bird stands out from the others. While the rest of its body — pale gray and brown — blends with its surroundings, its stark black and white head markings seem vibrant and bright, even in late evening light.
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| White-Crowned Sparrow eating sunflower seeds © SB |
What is this? White-Crowned Sparrow
Location: Backyard, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Location: Backyard, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Photo date: April 27, 2012.
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I live in enfield Connecticut. This morning, Easter Sunday, I saw this bird for the first time ever in my life. I could not get a good picture but I did find it when I used bing.com. It was the very first bird of the images of birds.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad this helped! I love their song in spring.
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