White Crowned Sparrow Song

Medium sized sparrow with brown streaked upperparts small white throat patch and plain gray underparts.
White crowned sparrow song. It didn t stop there. By 2015 every sparrow west of central ontario was singing the doublet ending. Short flights alternates rapid wing beats with brief periods of the wings pulled to sides. Different subspecies across the country sing clearly different songs but they re all recognizable by the sweet whistling introduction a succession of jumbled whistles and a buzz or trill near the end.
5 9 6 3 in 15 16 cm weight. There are five recognized subspecies that differ in annual cycle and migratory behavior. At first you might think this sparrow is just another little brown bird but the elegant black and white stripes on its head make this bird stand. The head can look distinctly peaked or smooth and flat depending on the bird s attitude.
Nuttall s white crowned sparrow zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli is sedentary and spends the entire year within a few hundred meters of the ocean along the central california coast. A song that went viral across a bird species has been tracked by scientists showing the white throated sparrow s new tune is here to stay. 0 9 1 0 oz 25 28 g. The buzzy song seems to float on the air in much of the western united states.
Male white crowned sparrow in full song. Songs last 2 3 seconds. Wings are brown with two pale bars. Adults have bold black and white head pattern and are gray from throat to belly.
The white crown has distinct black lines. Sparrow sized or smaller measurements. Breast is plain gray without streaks. In western quebec nearly 2 000 miles from where the song began it s still spreading.
The song of the white crowned sparrow is one of the most studied sounds in all of animal behavior. The white crowned sparrow pours out its song over and over on spring and summer days and even on moonlit nights. The white crowned sparrow is a large sparrow with a small bill and a long tail. Slightly larger than a song sparrow.
Bill color varies from yellow to pink but always brighter than white throated sparrow. Other american sparrows towhees and juncos. White crowned sparrow noises sounds calling and singing.