Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: White-crowned Sparrow

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This common bird has dialects all over the country to denote where it is from.  These birds are observed in the winter in Oklahoma in brushy or weedy areas.  They will feed in flocks on the ground and when disturbed, will all fly back to cover.  Our adult East Taiga subspecies has a pink bill and white head stripes.

A Boreal Forest breeder, as well as portions of western states, these sparrows are resident in most of the southern US.  Gambel's sparrow enjoys shrubby and woody thickets, as well as hedgerows, forest parks, and gardens in many open areas.  Because of its wide range and distribution, it is often seen, especially during migratory events in the same areas.

                                                      East Taiga White-crowned Sparrow
                                                              Boomer Lake Park, 2015
Just like most sparrows, the white-crowned hops and scratches, but will sometimes hawk for insects in flight.

The undulating flight with alternate flapping is a characteristic of many birds like this one.  This sparrow can show a strong preference for certain territories and be within a flock of a dozen to four dozen birds in winter, especially in agricultural fields and back yards.  They can be attracted by brush piles and sunflower seeds if you'd like to see more of them.

They prefer seeds, buds, and berries, and like most breeding birds base their diet upon protein sources in spring and summer.

Most of this species migrates at night.  The northern and mountain region subspecies are strongly migratory, with the Pacific birds usually resident to their region.  Alaskan birds are known for orange bills and the Pacific coast birds have yellow bills, while the remainder share the pink bill, including the Rocky Mountain subspecies.

The Gambel's sparrow is very familiar to the eastern and mountain subspecies, but will not have black lores, yet the bill is more orange.  Nuttall's sparrow is a very regional non-migratory coastal bird of the Pacific, restricted to parkland and restored scrub.

Known for the short series of clear whistles followed directly by buzzy tones, it gets easier to tell when they are in the area if one enjoys birding by ear.  Once the GISS (general impression, shape, and size) is learned, one should have no trouble picking out young birds, who have brown as opposed to black head markings.  The bill is just as short and the tail is just as long in comparison to an adult.