I’m writing about these two sparrows together since both are currently visiting my feeder and neither will be spending the summer. Their time with me will be short, mere “rest-stops” on their migration north to breed: the White-crown to Alaska and Arctic Canada, and the White-throat to our northeast and over Canada (see their range maps at All About Birds (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/).
These two sparrows also resemble one another. Shown here (courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) is the White-Crowned Sparrow. However, the White-throated Sparrow also has distinctive black heads stripes and conspicuous yellow lores, “the area on each side of a bird's face, between the eyes and the upper bill” (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/label/extanatomy/answers.shtml).
When it comes to songs, the White-throat is more easily identifiable. Two phonetic translations are usually cited: 1) Old-Sam-Peabody, or if you’re Canadian, you might prefer, 2) Oh-sweet-Canada. In his A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies, Peterson describes the song as “several clear pensive whistles, easily imitated.” And let me add—easily recognized—amid the more cheerful whistlers of spring.
Till next time . . . happy birding!
Georgia Anne
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