Cool fact: Opposites attract. Two color morphs occur with equal frequency among White-throated Sparrows, and each morph nearly always mates with the other. "White-stripe" morphs have sharply contrasting black-and-white head stripes and usually solid gray breasts; "tan-stripe" morphs have less-contrasting dull black-and-tan colored stripes, and they often have streaks on their breasts. The more aggressive "white-stripe" females are preferred by both forms and are more successful in attracting the preferred "tan-stripe" males. This combination forms most rapidly, leaving "white-stripe" males and "tan-stripe" females to pair with each other. The result is an observed 96 percent frequency of mixed-morph pairings.

 

he song of the White-throated Sparrow is known to many by the mnemonic Old Sam Peabody. It is a long clear whistle starting with one or two low tones, followed by three or four higher wavering tones. On the breeding grounds in brushy or semiopen mixed woods, males sing throughout the day, especially early in the morning and again at dusk. The breeding range extends across Canada east of the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, from the tree line south in the West to central Alberta and Saskatchewan and in the East into the Great Lakes forest region from northern Minnesota to New England.

In winter they form flocks and inhabit dense vegetation, where they forage on or near the ground. Typical winter habitats are wood lots, scrub lands, gardens, and backyards. They frequently visit bird feeders. Easily pished up, they may perch exposed in the branches of small trees when flushed. The thin high contact notes can be heard from concealed foraging flocks, and occasionally one will sing the Old Sam Peabody song, especially in early spring. The winter range overlaps the breeding range in Maritime Canada and New England and extends throughout the Southeast to Florida and the Gulf Coast, and west across the Southwest (where they are uncommon) to the West Coast. They are most abundant in winter where the average minimum January temperature is more than 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and annual precipitation exceeds 40 inches.

Description:  The White-throated Sparrow is a fairly large (six to seven inches in length) chunky sparrow with a relatively long tail. Sexes are similar.

The strikingly patterned head has a central white crown stripe and supercilium (both of which are pale tan in tan-striped birds), separated by a black (or dark brown) lateral crown stripe. The supercilium is yellow in front of the eye. Below the supercilium is a thin black or dark brown eye stripe. The throat is white, sharply delineated from the gray cheek and upper breast by a very thin black moustachial stripe and lower edge. The back and slightly notched tail are brown, and the rump is gray brown and faintly streaked. The wings are brown with two narrow whitish wingbars. The belly is dull white and unstreaked. The bill is horn colored (dark tan), and the legs are pale pinkish brown. Winter plumages are somewhat more dull in coloration, with the throat patch not as clearly defined.

White-throated Sparrows can be distinguished from the similar White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) by the white-crown's gray (not white) throat, lack of yellow in the supercilium, and gray (not brown) nape. Adult White-crowned Sparrows never have streaks on the breast, as do "tan-stripe" morphs of the White-throated Sparrow. White-crowned Sparrows have yellowish to orange or dark reddish pink bills, but never the horn-colored bills of the White-throated Sparrows. Golden-crowned Sparrows have yellow in the central crown stripe, not in front of the eye, and also lack the white supercilium and throat of the White-throated Sparrow.