Skip to main content

Beak of the Week - White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Family: Passerellidae

The White-crowned Sparrow is a light gray sparrow with a brown back and wings, a long tail, orange, conical bill, and black and white striped cap on the head, making them look a little like badgers.

White-crowned Sparrows are very selective about the species they allow into their territories. They will chase away Dark-eyed Juncos and Chipping Sparrows, but do not mind sharing space with Fox Sparrows. White-crowned Sparrows are more aggressive toward other species than they are to other White-crowned Sparrows. In northern populations, male White-crowned Sparrows arrive first to the breeding grounds, and begin to sing in order to defend their territories from one another. When females arrive, they may defend their territories by singing as well. However, their songs are softer and more dynamic than the songs of the males. Different populations of White-crowned Sparrows form distinct song dialects because male White-throated Sparrows learn to sing from all of the songs of nearby White-crowned Sparrows. 


While female White-crowned Sparrows are the sole nest builders, both parents help to feed their young. Males will take care of the young while the females begin their second broods. Parents almost exclusively feed their young insects. Adults themselves consume insects, seeds, grains, and fruits. White-crowned Sparrows and Eastern Towhees engage in similar foraging behaviors. They turn over leaves by jumping backwards, and then hop forward again to grab the food item. 

This species breeds in open shrubby areas, and winters in areas with fields, roadsides, and dense vegetation. White-crowned Sparrows winter throughout most of the United States including the upper Texas coast.

✏️ By Sarah Lefoley, Conservation Technician, Houston Audubon
📸 Photos by Greg Lavaty
---
Visit our Bird Gallery to read about other Texas birds!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to DIY a Dripper for birds

Are you running out of home projects to keep busy during the quarantine? Here’s one my hubby made for me that you can try: a DYI Dripper. I’ve long wanted a bird dripper to complement my yard’s wildlife habitat, and with spring migrants on the way, I was keen to provide a drip that will attract new birds that don’t visit feeders. I had a problem though. There is no water line or power source near my feeders. The idea of stringing a hose or wire across the driveway just isn’t practical. Enter the engineer. My husband thought about the location and the limitations for a bit, and came up with the concept of sourcing water for a dripper off the sprinkler system. By using a toilet tank that fills every time the sprinklers run, water can be constantly available for the drip. I nixed the idea of a toilet tank sitting in my yard though, so he made some aesthetic modifications by installing a toilet tank float inside a 5 gallon bucket hidden inside a custom wooden box with a handsome copper p

Beak of the Week - Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron ( Nyctanassa violacea ) Family: Ardeidae Our Beak of the Week is the official Bird of Houston , the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron! This seemingly hunch-backed bird can be a difficult one to spot. Both species of North American night-herons, yellow-crowned and black-crowned, forage mainly at night and spend most of the day hidden among branches near a body of water. These two birds can be differentiated easily by their plumage on and around their head. The most obvious difference is stated in their names: Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have a yellow crown and Black-crowned Night-Herons have a black crown. But that’s not the only difference! Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have a black head and face with a distinct thick white cheek stripe, whereas Black-crowned Night-Herons have a black head with gray on their face that extends down the whole front of the body. Yellow-crowned Night Herons also have a gray front and neck, but it contrasts greatly with their facial patter

Beak of the Week - Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird ( Archilochus colubris ) Family: Trochilidae Did you know that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are able to fly in all 6 directions with wing beats of 53 times per a second? Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are bright emerald or golden-green on the back and crown with gray-white underparts. Males have a brilliant iridescent red throat while females and immatures have fine, dark throat streaking. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds feed on the nectar of red or orange tubular flowers as well as at hummingbird feeders and sometimes tree sap. Hummingbirds also catch insects in midair or pull them out of spider webs. In preparation for their migration, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds double their weight from 3 grams to over 6 grams prior to departing. In the fall, millions of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will pass through Texas on their migration to points south of the border with many crossing the Gulf of Mexico in a single flight. They arrive from breeding grounds as far away as Nova Scotia