Friday, 25 April 2014

Sparrows


Golden-crowned Sparrows consume an almost entirely vegetarian diet while on their wintering range. They eat buds and flowers, to the extent that they may exact a toll on California gardens. They are especially fond of sprouted seeds, including those of garden vegetables. Little is known of their breeding biology, but it is thought that insects make up a large percentage of their summer diet and that nestlings are fed nearly 100 percent insects.The Golden-crowned Sparrow, like other "crowned" sparrows—the White-crowned (Z. leucophrys) and the White-throated (Z. albicollis) sparrow—is a largish, relatively long-tailed sparrow with a striking head pattern. It is a western species that largely replaces the White-crowned Sparrow along the Pacific Coast and adjacent mountain areas. Golden-crowned Sparrows breed in alpine and tundra areas from Alaska to extreme northwest Washington. They frequent alder and willow thickets, or dwarf conifers, often above or beyond the tree line as long as there are sufficient numbers of small bushes and scrub. The song of three, clear, whistled descending notes, (three blind mice or oh dear me) is sung by males from exposed perches.
» Length: 5.5 inches
» Conical bill
» Brown crown
» Grayish face and supercilium
» Brown streak extends behind eye
» Thick malar streak
» Brown back with darker streaks
» Brown wings with some rust
» Underparts white with heavy dark streaks and central breast spot
» Long, brown, rounded tail
» Sexes similar
» Juvenile (Summer) similar to adult but buffier
» Considerable variation in plumage across its range from dark to rusty upperparts and in bill size and shape.

0 comments: