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Saturday, September 29, 2018

Oklahoma Winter Bird Profile: White-throated Sparrow




Poor Sam, Peabody, Peabody, Peabody or
My Sweet Canada, Canada, Canada 

Many times near openings in openings in mixed woods, along brushy understory, or woodland edges, this classic sparrow has a powerful song for such a small bird.  A stocky and dark brown-red sparrow, the gray breast is either understreaked or coarsely mottled.

The offset white throat has sharp delineation and the yellow lores are another identification point.

Attracting this beautiful songster to a feeder will  not be difficult if it is near a thicket for rapid cover.

This late fall migrater can be a slow mover to its southern sources and moves mostly at night.  The tan striped supercilium (eyebrow) adult is more drab and the white striped supercilium adult is more brightly colored.  Oddly, one of each tends to make a pair and it has been noted in studies that the white-striped adult is the more aggressive.


                                                             White-throated Sparrow
                                                           Boomer Creek Park, 2015

This ground forager enjoys fall berries and in the winter likes grass and weed seeds.  A good way to be attractive to the species is to have an unmowed section of back yard for its feeding pleasure.  Wintering birds are most common in the south and east and not difficult to find in Oklahoma and as far west as the Pacific coast, especially when it belts out song.

Mostly a Canadian breeder, this bird is very susceptible to window strikes and is a prey choice of many smaller raptors.


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