Content for this page researched and created by  Marcella Moore

 

The White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a medium-sized (Beauty of Birds) to a fairly large sparrow (James D. Rising) with an average length of 7 inches and a 10-inch wingspan (American Museum).   The adult has a black and white striped crown, brown upperparts and gray underparts, the immature bird has tan and brown head stripes, and the juvenile has brown, buff heads and streaked underparts (National Geographic).  The color of the conical-shaped bill (James D. Rising) is recognized by its geographic area, ranging from a yellowish bill (the Pacific Coastal region), an orange bill (the western and northwestern regions), and a pink bill (the Eastern and Rocky Mountain regions) (American Museum).

The White-crowned Sparrow’s more distinct physical appearance is also determined by the geographical region they inhabit (National Geographic).   The Zonotrichia leucophrys subspecies, “Dark-lored” group includes the Rocky Mountain Z. l. oriantha and eastern Z. l. leucophrys (east of the Hudson Bay), having a black stripe on both sides of the white strip from the crown to their beak (Sibley Field Guide) (National Geographic). The “Pacific” group (the northern Z. l. pugetensis and southern Z. l. nuttalli), and the “Gambel’s” group (the western Z. l. gambelii), all have a gray stripe around the white crown instead of black (National Geographic).

White-crowned Sparrows live in wide open spaces that are bushy, weedy, grassy, along fences, in forests, gardens, near roadways and parks (Birds of Pennsylvania) (Gerald Noonan) as well as trees like conifers, willows and birches (James D. Rising).

The White-crowned Sparrow is a ground bird that forages in low shrubs (by hopping or running) for seeds, vegetables, various fruit and insects; and will makes short flights to catch flying insects (since their young eat insects) (Audubon Field Guide) (James D. Rising).   In the winter, they forage in flocks and eat mostly seeds (James D. Rising), even eating from bird feeders stocked with millet, sunflower seeds and cracked corn (Beauty of Birds) (Wild Birds Unlimited).   The summer diet is insects and spiders (Audubon Field Guide).

The White-crowned Sparrow’s breeding, habitat and seasonal migration patterns occur in different regions of North America, as far north as Newfoundland and British Columbia, southward to Mexico, west toward the mountainous region, and the east coast (New Jersey to North Carolina); and while they are uncommon migrants to Pennsylvania, they are sometimes found in the southeast region during winter (The Birds of Pennsylvania).   Small groups will emerge in the spring from mid-April through late May when larger flocks will begin to pass through, sometimes peaking at over 1000 White-crowned Sparrows (Birds of Pennsylvania).  In the fall, the migrants start to arrive around mid-September and disperse, by late October.   They are most common during spring for the western portion of the state and in the fall for the eastern portion (Birds of Pennsylvania).

During the breeding season, males will sing throughout the day and frequently at night (James D. Rising).  Depending on the region they inhabit, the songs being sung are different but distinct.  In the east and north, songs sound like, “dear-dear-buzz buzz buzz,” whereas along the Pacific or west coast region the sound is more like, “pink, tsit or zink.” (James D. Rising).  Since males arrive before the female, they defend their territory on the nesting grounds by singing (Audubon Field Guide).

White-crowned Sparrows (often found with the White-throated Sparrows) prefer to have their nests in open areas, near tree lines, in small brush, low bushes or under rocks. (Sibley Field Guide) (James D. Rising). The nests are built by the female and made of bulky or fine grass, twigs, weeds, bark shreds, feathers, rootlets, and animal hair (Audubon Field Guide) (James D. Rising).   She usually lays 4-5 eggs (brown-marked grey or greenish-blue) (Beauty of Birds) and incubates them from 11 to 14 days (Gerald R. Noonan).  The number of broods each year depends on the breeding location (one brood in the far North, to 2-3 in the southern regions, occasionally 4) (Gerald R. Noonan).   Both parents feed the young and 7-12 days after hatching, the young leaves the nest (Gerald R. Noonan).  Along the Pacific Coastal area, the species is often parasitized by cowbirds laying their eggs in the White-crowned Sparrow nests to be hatched and cared for by them (James D. Rising).

The name sparrow comes from the word “spearwa” which means, “flutterer,” given by English colonists after coming to the New World (James D. Rising).   American sparrows are more closely related to birds we know as buntings.  The Zonotrichia leucophrys has even been called the White-crowned bunting (Spencer Trotter).  Because sparrows are songbirds, they get grouped with perching birds, called oscines (James D. Rising).  American colonists gave names to birds based on their vocal performances and even their colors (Spencer Trotter).   Names of two of the White-crowned sparrows, Z. l Nutalli and the Z. l. Gambelii were given honoring North American English explorer, Thomas Nuttall (1786 – 1859), and William Gambel (1823-1849) (of Philadelphia) who accompanied Nuttall on many expeditions (until his death) (Wild Birds Unlimited).

The behavior patterns of the White-crowned Sparrow while in captivity, are similar to the behavior patterns that those not in captivity demonstrate during the autumn and spring migratory stages (Agatsuma); so, as they prepare for migration (which is linked to the annual breeding patterns in these seasons), they go through periods of excessive eating, fattening (up), and muscle hypertrophy in addition to the flight (fueling cycles) (Agatsuma) (Ramenofsky), and by the time they reach their destinations (where breeding takes place), the large loads of fat and muscle mass will be greatly reduced (Ramenofsky). Those in captivity rest for extensive periods of time, have free access to food and water, but without the work effort.  Another interesting point is that in the wild they can live for more than 12 years, but the average life span (if captured) is much less (Wild Birds Unlimited).

Life-threatening situations produce emotions of fear. The response for the White-crowned Sparrow would be in the various voice patterns and high- and low-octave pitches resulting in the alarm calls, mobbing calls, and screams, unlike their normal ranges of song communication (Bledsoe).   The location of the sound of the possible danger is important.  Because the White-crowned Sparrow is a ground bird, if the sounds being heard are close to the ground, the alarm voice takes over (Bledsoe).

Other dangers, that could affect the singing behaviors, patterns or methods of the White-crowned Sparrow, would be exposure to pathogens. A study was conducted with the Z. l. oriantha (the males), being infected with hemosporidian parasites (such as Leucocytozoon, Plasmodium (avian malaria) and Haemoproteus) to see if there would be any effects on sexually selected behavior traits (Gilman).   Songs prior to the treatment were recorded and after treatment were played (as though there was an intrusion by an enemy) (Gilman).  The Leucocytozoon and Plasmodium infections impacted brain functions causing changes in the singing behaviors, reproduction, and a decrease in the number of songs; but the infection with Haemoproteus did not produce any detectable effect (Gilman).

The White-crowned Sparrow’s visual senses and the depth of visual perception, is very important because they need to be able to make clear observations when encountering or assessing danger. When scanning takes place, there are factors needing to be considered, are:  clarity of vision, the area between the eyes (called binocular vision involving range of vision), how well they can detect motion, and the size of the back of their head (the range of sight area involving head movement) (Fernandez-Juricic) (Lynch).   The White-crowned Sparrow and the California towhee (Pipilo crissalis) have wider binocular fields than some of their avian predators, because laterally placed eyes, and faster head movement (which enhances detection and tracking of predators), cause their vision to be heightened (Lynch).

The social statuses of the White-crowned Sparrow are arranged by who is the most dominant to who is the most subordinate among the species. The male is the most dominant, followed by the adult female, the immature female and immature male (Keys). The downfall of being a subordinate means shorter feeding intervals or being chased from a feeding area (Keys).

Singing is a learned trait and vocal practice is vital to reaching song perfection (Poesel²).  Song sharing is a common practice among the male sparrows because territories and neighborhoods get established with this practice, even to the establishing of new dialects (Poesel²).  Males that share songs benefit from lifetime pairing success (Nelson).   High performance singers often share songs (Poesel²), but when singing to attract certain females, males may compete with each other by singing specific songs (Poesel¹).

There are problems with keeping safe havens for sparrows, with the destruction of areas they inhabit, migrate and breed to (James D. Rising); so they are forced to seek other habitats, often near populations. The danger is, pet cats kill migrating birds, and they die from flying into lighted buildings (James D. Rising).

 

General Bibliography

Alderfer, Jonathan, ed. Complete Birds of North America. Washington DC: The National Geographic  Society, 2006. 587. Print.

Kaufman, Kenn. Preface. The Birds of Pennsylvania. Ed. Gerald M. McWilliams and Daniel W. Brauning. Ithaca: Cornell University, 2000. 418-19. Print.

Noonan, Gerald R. “White-crowned Sparrow.” Birds of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. Science Quest Home, 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.

Rising, James D. A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of the Sparrows of the       United States and Canada. San Diego: Academic Press, 1996. 213-18. Print.

Sibley, David A. The Sibley Field Guides to Birds of Eastern North America. First ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, 2003. 386. Print.

Spencer, Trotter. “An Inquiry into the History of the Current English Names of North American Land Birds.” The Auk 26.4 (1909): 346-63. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.

Vuilleumier, Francois, ed. American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America. New York: DK Publishing, 2009. 653. Print.

“White-crowned Sparrow.” Wild Birds Unlimited Chipper Woods Observatory. 2009. Web. 25 Sept. 2016 “White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys.” Audubon Field Guide. N.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2016

“White-crowned Sparrows.” Beauty of Birds. 2011. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.

Scientific Bibliography

Agatsuma, Renee, and Marilyn Ramenofsky. “Migratory Behaviour of Captive White-crowned Sparrows, Zonotrichia leucophrys Gambelii, Differs During Autumn and Spring Migration.” Behaviour 143.10 (2006): 1219-37. JSTOR. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Bledsoe, Ellen K., and Daniel T. Blumstein. “What is the Sound of Fear? Behavioral Responses of White-crowned Sparrows Zonotrichia leucophrys to Synthesized Nonlinear Acoustic Phenomena.” Current Zoology 60.4 (2014): 534-41. Academic Search Alumni Edition. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Fernandez-Juricic, Esteban. “Sensory Basis of Vigilance Behavior in Birds: Synthesis and Future Prospects.” Behavioral Processes (2011): 143-50. Science Direct. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Gilman, Sarah, Daniel T. Blumstain, and Johannes Foufopoulos. “The Effect of Hemosporidian Infections on White-crowned Sparrow Singing Behavior.” Ethology (2006): 437-43. Wiley Online Library. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Keys, Gregory C., and Stephen I. Rothstein. “Benefits and Costs of Dominance and Subordinance in White-crowned Sparrows and The Paradox Of Status Signaling.” The Association for the Study of  Animal Behaviour (1991): 899-911. Science Direct. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Lynch, Jacqueline R. “Visual Systems and Vigilance Behaviour of Two Ground-Foraging Avian Prey Species: White-crowned Sparrows and California Towhees.” Animal Behaviour (2011): 705-11. Science Direct. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Nelson, Douglas A., and Angelika Poesel. “Song Sharing Correlates with Lifetime Social Pairing Success but not Territory Tenure in the Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow.” Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (2013): 993-99. Springer Link. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Poesel, Angelika, Douglas A. Nelson, and H L. Gibbs. “Song Sharing Correlates with Social but Not Extrapair Mating Success in the White-crowned Sparrow.” Behavioral Ecology (2012): 627-33. Oxford University Press Journal. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Poesel, Angelika, and Douglas A. Nelson. “Changes in Performance of Shared and Unshared Songs Within and Between Years in the White-crowned Sparrow.” Ethology 121.9 (2015): 850-60. Wiley Online Library. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Ramenofsky, Marilyn. “Hormones in Migration and Reproductive Cycles of Birds.” Hormones and Reproduction of Vertebrates.” Eds. David O. Norris and Kristin H. Lopez. Vol. 4. Birds. Boston: Academic. 2011.  205-27. 23 Sept. 2016.

 

Image Gallery

Flickr. Yahoo, 2008, https://www.flickr.com

(Use via Creative Commons)

1.   White-crowned Sparrow facing left (Steve Ryan) (creative commons)

2. White-crowned Sparrow close up (Mike Beard) (creative commons)

Flickr. Yahoo, 2013, https://www.flickr.com

(Use via Creative Commons)

1. White-crowned Sparrow nest of 4 eggs (Jacob W. Frank) (creative commons)

Flickr. Yahoo, 2014, https://www.flickr.com/photos

(Use via Creative Commons)

1. White-crowned Sparrow Feeding Fledging Brown Cowbird (Dawn Beattie) (creative commons)
2. White-crowned Sparrow facing camera (Andy Reago & Chrissy McClaren) (creative commons)