Family: Emberizidae, New World Sparrows view all from this family

Description 6-7 1/2" (15-19 cm). Similar to White-throated Sparrow, but more slender, without white throat, and generally with a more erect posture. Crown has bold black and white stripes. Upperparts streaked, underparts clear pearly gray. Pink bill. Young birds similar, but crown stripes buff and dark brown, underparts washed with dull buff.

Habitat Nests in dense brush, especially near open grasslands; winters in open woods and gardens.

Nesting 3-5 pale green eggs, thickly spotted with brown, in a bulky cup of bark strips, grass, and twigs, lined with grass and hair, on or near the ground.

Range Breeds from Alaska and Manitoba east to Labrador and Newfoundland, and south in western mountains to northern New Mexico and central California. Winters north to southern Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, and Maryland.

Voice   Short series of clear whistles followed by buzzy notes.

Discussion The handsome White-crown is a favorite not only of bird-watchers but of laboratory scientists. Much of what we know about the physiology of bird migration has been learned from laboratory experiments with this species. The northern, northwestern, and mountain subspecies of White-crowned Sparrows have slightly different head patterns and songs. Song dialects vary locally as well. In the Arctic, where the sun does not set during the breeding season, these sparrows sing all night long; however, White-crowns farther south, in the Pacific Northwest, also sing frequently during the dark May nights. In the East, these birds are much less numerous than White-throated Sparrows, but flocks of White-throats often contain a few of these slender, elegant birds. Much of their feeding is done on the ground but, like White-throats, they will respond to a squeaking noise made by an observer by popping up to the top of a bush.