Zonotrichia leucophrys 17 - 19 cm

Loud scuffling in the bushes often signals the presence of this spirited bird. Using both of its rather large feet, it vigorously scratches among the leaf litter in search of food.

In much of Canada, the sighting of a white-crowned sparrow indicates a change in season. Breeding in northern areas and along the West Coast, this bird only visits the rest of Canada as it passes through on its spring or fall migration.

The most distinctive feature of this relatively large sparrow, as reflected in its name, is the striped crown. Its grey head is crowned with conspicuous black and white stripes. The white-crowned sparrow lacks the yellow spot near each eye and the white throat of the white-throated sparrow, a close relative.

The preferred food of this energetic bird is grass and weed seed, so allow an area of your garden to go a bit wild and do not cut back seed heads. Create a patch of prairie meadow with wildflowers and grasses for an abundant seed source. In spring and summer, the white-crowned sparrow also requires insects, so avoid the use of pesticides. A hedgerow along a field edge provides sheltered hunting grounds. Seeds on a low platform feeder may tempt this ground feeder to make a migratory stopover.

While many sparrows travel in mixed flocks, the white-crowned is more of a loner, preferring to travel individually or in small groups with others of its kind. It frequents clearings, meadows, forest edges, parks, and gardens that provide shrub cover.

The white-crowned sparrow prefers to nest on the ground in the shelter of dense vegetation, especially tall grass. Its nest is built of grasses, feathers, hair, or fine twigs. If you live in its breeding area, you may be able to entice a pair to nest in your garden by providing grassy areas with low, dense shrubs for shelter and nesting, as well as running water.

Due to its abundance and wide-distribution, the white-crowned sparrow is one of the best-studied birds in North America and has allowed us to learn a great deal about bird song, for which many of the sparrows are noted.

photo credit: Mike Hopiak, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology