The white-crowned sparrow (''Zonotrichia leucophrys'') is a species of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. A medium-sized member of the

New World sparrow New World sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns. Although they share t ...

family, this species is marked by a grey face and black and white streaking on the upper head. It breeds in brushy areas in the

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, sp ...

and

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

of the northernmost parts of the continent and in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

and Pacific coast. While southerly populations in the Rocky Mountains and coast are largely resident, the breeding populations of the northerly part of its range are migratory and can be found as wintering or passage visitors through most of North America south to central Mexico.

Etymology

The scientific name is from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

. The genus name ''Zonotrichia'' is from

(, ) and (, ). The species name ''leucophrys'' is from (, ) and (, ).

Description

Adults have black and white stripes on their head, a gray face, brown streaked upper parts and a long tail. The wings are brown with bars and the underparts are gray. Their bill is pink or yellow. They are similar in appearance to the white-throated sparrow, but do not have the white throat markings or yellow lores.Chilton, G., M. C. Baker, C. D. Barrentine, and M. A. Cunningham. 1995. ''White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)''. In ''The Birds of North America'', No. 183 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. Measurements: * Length: 5.9-6.3 in (15-16 cm) * Weight: 0.9-1.0 oz (25-28 g) * Wingspan: 8.3-9.4 in (21-24 cm)

Subspecies

White-crowned sparrow perched at Llano Seco

There are five currently recognized subspecies of white-crowned sparrow (''pugetensis'', ''gambelii'', ''nuttalli'', ''oriantha'', and ''leucophrys''), varying in breeding distribution migratory route. Birds of the subspecies ''nuttalli'' are permanent residents in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, while birds of the subspecies ''gambelli'' may migrate as far as the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...

during the summer breeding season. Northern birds migrate to the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

and northern Mexico.

Distribution

Their breeding habitat is brushy areas across northern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and the western United States. The white-crowned sparrow is a very rare vagrant to

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. It has been sighted in England, Scotland, Ireland, and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. In 2008 a white-crowned sparrow was spotted in Cley next the Sea in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

, England. To commemorate the event an image of the bird was included in a window at St Margaret's Church.

Behaviour

These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation, but sometimes make short flights to catch flying

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pa ...

s. They mainly eat

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm ...

, other plant parts and insects. In winter, they often forage in flocks. White-crowned sparrows nest either low in bushes or on the ground under shrubs and lay three to five brown-marked gray or greenish-blue eggs. The white-crowned sparrow is known for its unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, which allows it to stay half-awake for up to two weeks during migration. This effect has been studied for possible human alertness applications in

shift work Shift work is an employment practice designed to make use of, or provide service across, all 24 hours of the clock each day of the week (often abbreviated as '' 24/7''). The practice typically sees the day divided into shifts, set periods of ...

and truck driving. Recent studies by ornithologists including Elizabeth Derryberry have shown that white-crowned sparrow songs are affected by human activity and noise.

Images

Image:Zonotrichia leucophrys1.jpg, Adult Image:White-crowned Sparrow (3).jpg, Immature White-crowned Sparrows have more muted plumage. File:Bird on a wire p1060660.jpg, Subspecies ''nuttalli'' at Point Lobos State Reserve,

File:White-crowned sparrow Cley next the Sea.JPG, Depiction of a white-crowned sparrow in window in St Margaret's Church, Cley next the Sea, Norfolk

References

External links

White-crowned sparrow species account
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology

- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q686673

white-crowned sparrow The white-crowned sparrow (''Zonotrichia leucophrys'') is a species of passerine bird native to North America. A medium-sized member of the New World sparrow family, this species is marked by a grey face and black and white streaking on the uppe ...

Native birds of Alaska Birds of Canada Native birds of the Northwestern United States

Taxa named by Johann Reinhold Forster