WHITE-THROATS AND WHITE-CROWNS

      I enjoy seeing little groups of handsome white-throated sparrows and white-crowned sparrows in my neighborhood in New Holland, Pennsylvania every winter.  They hide out in lawn or field shrubbery and feed on weed and grass seeds on the ground.  And they come to bird feeders to feed on seeds and grain.  They are lovely additions to any neighborhood in winter, the only time most of us will ever see them.

     Adult white-throats and adult white-crowns look much alike, with small differences.  Both these related species are seven inches long, brown and dark-streaked on top, which camouflages them among thickets of weeds, grasses and shrubbery, and pale-gray below.  Both species have black and white-striped crowns, but those stripes are more distinct on the white-crowned sparrows.  White-throats have a patch of yellow feathers before each eye, and white throat patches, which distinguishes them.

     Immature birds of both kinds are similar to their respective parents, but have brown and dull-white striped crowns.  And both ages of both species are attractive the year around.

     These sparrows nest in different habitats in Canada.  White-throats raise young in brushy clearings in mixed deciduous/coniferous forests, while white-crowns hatch young farther north among scrubby conifers between forests and the tundra.  Raising offspring in different environments reduces competition for food between related species.  And all these birds migrate south in fall in search of good seed supplies for the winter.

     White-throats winter in thickets of bushes and vines in hedgerows between fields and woodland edges, and among shrubbery in older suburban areas across much of the United States.  White-crowns mostly winter in sparse hedgerows in the southcentral United States, but also in the northeastern states.

     Both these pretty species of sparrows come to bird feeders to consume seeds and grain.  And there is where most of us will see these little birds with striking crowns.  

     Male white-throats sing beautiful, quavering  songs in winter, especially at dusk when these lovely sparrows go to roost.  They are songs I enjoy hearing anytime, anywhere. 

     Watch for these sparrows in October and through winter.  They add enjoyment to winter days.         

     

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