Description: A medium-sized sparrow. Adults have distinctive bold black and white stripes on crown and above eyes. The medium-sized bill ranges from pink to orange to yellowish. Breast and neck pale grayish to gray-brown. Throat white. Cheeks plain. Back streaked brown on tan. White stripe above eye of adult extends to white lores on gambelii race; lores black on leucophrys race; pale gray on nutalli. Immature birds are more buffy brown than adults. Head stripes are brown or tan. Often shows crest (head peaked at rear).

Range: Breeds across northern Canada, and in mountains of western United States. Winters in lower half of the Lower 48 States except for the extreme southeastern states and along the Appalachians of the mid Atlantic states. Abundant in winter in the west; uncommon to rare in the east.

Behavior: Feeds on ground; often heard scratching in leaf litter under bushes. Sits near top of bush on prominent branches to catch morning sun. Wings are surprisingly noisy in short flights. Often found in large flocks of mixed sparrow species in weedy fields; often the predominant sparrow in such flocks in the west. In the east found in small numbers in larger flocks of the related White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis).

Related or Similar Species: Closely related to White-throated Sparrow, and often found with them in mixed flocks in winter. Other Zonotrichia sparrows are: Harris (querula) of the central plains and the Golden-crowned Sparrow (atricapilla) of the Pacific coast. In mixed winter flocks, Golden-crowned Sparrow can be overlooked as it closely resembles the immature White-crowned Sparrow.

Identification: Size and shape make the White-crowned Sparrow distinctive and easy to identify in most encounters. Adults are distinctive with boldly striped crown; immatures look like brown versions of adults and are often easy to tell from the crested look. Winter birds usually vocalize and can be located and identified readily after learning the winter calls. White-throated Sparrows look more rounded and have more distinct marking by the throat, plus yellow lores. Winter Golden-crowned Sparrows usually show some yellow on crown, plus bicolored bill.

Advice on Finding and Photographing: Look for flocks of sparrows in brushy areas in winter fields. Work from car window along backroads with brushy edges. Sit quietly near bushes and watch for birds feeding on the ground to come into the open. Take advantage of birds sunny in early morning cold.

Editor's Comment: Let us know what you think! Please email the Editor to let us know your thoughts.

Richard Ditch been looking at birds and taking their photographs since the early 1970's, when he caught the "birding bug" from a friend at work. He was very active as a birder when he lived in New Jersey (1970-1994), maintaining lists of all the birds he saw each year in the state and elsewhere. Rich was a volunteer and field trip leader at the Owl Haven Nature Center (part of the New Jersey Audubon Society) and was a member of the Board of Directors for many years, along with being a frequent contributor to their quarterly magazine and to Records of New Jersey Birds. After moving to Phoenix, AZ in 1994 as a result of a job change, he found the birds to be a lot different and went through a rapid period of learning new species and new forms of species East. Richard is also a very active Member of our PhotoMigrations community and is a regular contributor to our forums. Please feel free to email him be sure to visit his website located at: Birds in Nature - Images of Wild Birds.