From eBird/Cornell Lab of Ornithology: White-crowned Sparrows are large, long-tailed sparrows with striking head pattern. Adults have black and white stripes on the head, while immatures show brown and tan. Underparts are plain grayish without streaks. Bill color varies from yellow to pink, but always brighter than White-throated Sparrow. Breeds in brushy areas or thickets in open forest, often with conifers. In migration and winter, can be found in any brushy or weedy areas, often hopping on the ground. Visits feeders.
White-crowned Sparrows, Zonotrichia leucophrys, currently has 5 recognized, though somewhat disputed, subspecies. The following information on them has been gleaned from the Sibley’s Guides, All About Birds and Birds of the World.
Eastern Taiga (Eastern) Z. l. leucophrys. This race breeds around the eastern Hudson Bay and further east. The birds winter in the South and SE US down into Sonora in Mexico. Looks very similar to the Mountain race.
Western Taiga (Gambel’s) Z. l. gambelii, intergrades with Eastern Taiga all around the shores of Hudson Bay, and with Interior West birds in Montana and Alberta. Breeds from Alaska to the Hudson Bay. They winter in the western half of the US as far east as NE Kansas.
Interior West (Mountain) Z. l. oriantha, Interior West intergrades with Western Taiga birds in Montana and Alberta. Interior West birds are extremely similar to Eastern in general appearance, and very difficult to distinguish, but slight differences exist in color, loral pattern, bill size and color, song, and call, as described above. This race migrates out of the mountains into the lowlands of SW US and northern Mexico.
Pacific group (Nuttall’s) Z. l. nuttalli group. Their breeding range does not overlap with any other subspecies. These two Pacific subspecies differ from all other subspecies in having shorter wings, shorter primary projection, yellower bill, drabber upperparts, yellow bend of wing vs white, and a different song. Nuttall’s, Z. l. nuttalli, and Puget Sound, Z. l. pugetensis, are barely distinguishable from each other, and intergrade from northern California to southern Oregon, but likely identity can be determined by song and inferred from range and migratory behavior. Nuttall’s averages slightly larger and heavier, slightly more richly-colored overall, and often retains brown feathers in the crown in 1st spring or even as adults. Its song differs from pugetensis, and it is entirely nonmigratory. The contact zone between them is one of the best-studied of any bird and, interestingly, different features show different zones of intergradation. These two races tend to be coastal birds. Nuttall’s does not migrate and Puget Sound migrate into coastal Oregon and Northern CA.
From Birds of the World Nuttall’s is a multiple brooder while the other races only have a single brood each year.
Dawn Chorus is now open for your birdy observations of the week.