Sparrows surround us. They are present on every continent except Antarctica. While some sparrows live in remote places, others reside in our own backyards.
Without sparrows, spring and summer would lack many of the sounds that people love, as sparrows are known for their songs. A harbinger of spring and summer, the white-crowned sparrow is one of the region’s most vocal residents.
An excellent starter species to watch for beginning birders, the white-crowned sparrow is easily recognizable due to its highly contrasting black and white stripes on its head. Males and females are indistinguishable, and the head stripes of immature birds are brown and tan.
Some white-crowned sparrow populations are apparent year-round along the Pacific Coast and other parts of the western United States. Migratory individuals that breed in Canada and Alaska typically spend winters in the southern United States and Mexico.
Birds fitted with transmitters have logged up to 300 miles in a single night during migration.
In the West Sound, the white-crowned sparrow is year-round. Wintering birds may join with other sparrows, particularly their cousin, the golden-crowned sparrow. Birders often sort through these flocks in hopes of finding a tagalong white-throated or rare Harris’s sparrow. The local white-crowned sparrow population increases in spring and summer with breeding pairs spread out to establish territories.
It’s difficult to miss a white-crowned sparrow outside of a dense forest. From sea level to the mountains, it dines on seeds, insects, caterpillars, and berries in a variety of habitats, including forest edges, fields, bushy areas, backyards, and city parks. Even small trees in parking lot landscaping offer ideal perches from which males sing, serenading passersby.
Because it’s so easily observed, the white-crowned sparrow’s song is one of the most widely studied sounds in wildlife biology. Studies show that dialect varies considerably across its range.
Males do nearly all the singing to establish territory and attract mates. The typical song of a western Washington white-crowned sparrow begins with a two-note whistle, followed by several short notes, then ending in a buzzy two-note trill.
Pairs may raise two or three broods a year. Nests of twigs, grass, bark, and moss are placed within 10 feet of the ground in dense shrubbery. Clutch size is three to seven eggs, and siblings usually stay together for at least two months before venturing out on their own. Breeding pairs part ways at summer’s end, and many will reconnect the following year.
Because it thrives in habitats created by human activity, such as forest edges and open spaces with shrubbery, white-crowned sparrow populations are stable. Its range is expanding where suitable habitat is increasing.
The white-crowned sparrow is a special bird that offers anyone a chance to experience the comfort of nature. Its charming song reverberates above the sounds of traffic and other machinery, offering a respite from the noise that surrounds us.