365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Friday, April 24, 2020
White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia Leucophrys
Day 194: I refer to them as "racing-stripe sparrows" or "the guys with the go-faster stripes." The head of the White-Crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is marked by three distinct white stripes, one through each eye and one on the crown which meet at the back of the head, which makes the bird look as if it's wearing a bicycle helmet. When the bird is excited or curious, it may raise its crown feathers. As a species, they are gregarious little critters, often feeding among other birds including juncos and other sparrows. Their primary diet consists of weed and grass seeds, as well as a wide variety of insects and even some small fruits such as elderberries or blackberries. Their feeding habits resemble those of the Spotted Towhee: hop, scratch, hop-back-scratch. This action raises seeds and bugs to the surface where they are more accessible. White-Crowned Sparrows tend to stay in any given area, so their song often shows dialectic differences in different regions. Males which live on the border between two regions may learn to sing two different dialects. The locals can often be heard calling for "more cheezies," one of the mnemonics which can be used to identify this bird by ear.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment