White-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys Forster

 

 

 

Field Guide IDs:
NG-416; G-340; PE-278; PW-pl 58; AE-pl 540; AW-pl 586; AM(III)-268


Nest
Location
Nest
Type
Eggs &
Mating System
Dev. &
Parental Care
Primary &
2ndary Diet
..
Foraging
Strategy
F
I: 12 (11-14) DAYS
ALTRICIAL
GROUND
1 foot - 5 feet
(0 - 35 feet)
F
3-5 (2-6)
MONOG
(POLYGYN)
F: 7-12 DAYS
MF
SEEDS
BERRIES
FOLIAGE GLEAN
HAWKS

BREEDING:

Stunted woody veg, coastal scrub, wet meadows, thickets, chaparral, gardens, parks. 2-3, occ 4 broods, 1 in far n.

DISPLAYS:

Courtship: female flutters wings and trills.

NEST:

Built of grass, twigs, rootlets, forbs, leaves, shredded bark, lined with line materials. Built in 2-9 days. Female chooses site.

EGGS:

Pale greenish-blue, creamy white, marked with reddish-browns. 0.8" (21 mm).

DIET:

Includes spiders; forb and grass seeds, fruit, moss capsules, blossoms, fresh leaves.

CONSERVATION:

Winters s to c Mexico. Uncommon cowbird host.

NOTES:

In nonmigratory populations, pair may stay on territory all year and pair for life. Polygynous females may show antagonism (even singing) toward each other and divide up their male's territory. In far n, males arrive 2-3 weeks before females. Female broods; mouse-runs off ground nest if disturbed. Young usu fed only by female for first 3-4 days; fledge at earlier age in far n. Male assumes most of feeding while female begins second nest. Interval between fledging first brood and laying first egg of second clutch varies from 9-20 days. Male often sings at night. Stable winter flocks of 10-50 show strong site attachment to wintering territory. Females tend to winter farther s than males.

STANFORD. NOTES:

Common migrant and winter resident virtually throughout campus, occurring in a variety of habitat types but usually found in close proximity to the cover of brush or dense weedy vegetation. Often occurs in flocks with Golden-crowned Sparrows,but less closely tied to shrubs and brushy vegetation and more likely to occur in or near tall grasses and forbs (without nearby brush) than the Golden-crowned. Forages primarily on or near the ground, although in spring flocks forage in the crowns of flowering oaks and eucalyptus.

ESSAYS:

Bird Badges; Vocal Development; Vocal Dialects; Polygyny; Birds and the Law; Site Tenacity; Distraction Displays

REFERENCES:

King and Hubbard, 1981; Morton et al., 1972; Petrinovich and Patterson, 1983

Except for Stanford Notes, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988).