Summary ⁵

The White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a medium-sized sparrow with a pink/orange bill, gray body with a brown and gray streaked back and distinct black and white stripes on its crown.

You can hear the sounds of the White-crowned Sparrow here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-crowned_Sparrow/sounds

Similar Species Golden-crowned Sparrow have no white on the head (dull yellow instead)

Where on Campus? ⁶

White-Crowned Sparrows can be found along the edges of the parking lots, and along the creeks in the perimeter of the campus and also in the California Native Plant Garden.

Habitat ⁶

White-crowned Sparrows can be found in brushy, weedy habitats, fields and scrub. They frequently forage along forest edges. and nest in open shrubby habitats in Alaska and Canada.

Life History ⁶

Nesting Females build an open cup nest of is an open cup made of grass, twigs, and other plant material and line it with feathers, and animal hair.

Feeding White-crowned Sparrows feed mainly on seeds of "weeds" and grasses in winter. Other plants material (buds, flowers, etc.) may also be taken at various seasons and, in summer, many insects and spiders are consumed.

Distribution ⁶

The White-crowned Sparrow breeds in Canada, with the range extending far southward into the United States along the Pacific Coast and in the mountains. White-crowned Sparrows winter mainly in the United States and south to central Mexico.

Migration ⁶

White-crowned sparrows breed primarily in Alaska and Canada and winter in the United States to Northern Mexico.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Yathin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/36751725@N00/2113438171
2. (c) Wolfgang Wander, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/White-crowned-Sparrow.jpg/460px-White-crowned-Sparrow.jpg
3. (c) 2007 Leonard Blumin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=222056&one=T
4. (c) Mdf, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Zonotrichia-leucophrys-011.jpg/460px-Zonotrichia-leucophrys-011.jpg
5. Adapted by gillian360 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zonotrichia_leucophrys
6. (c) gillian360, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• VertNet
• Xeno-canto

Range Map

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