Golden-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia atricapillaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Golden-crowned Sparrow Winter - The winter Golden-crowned Sparrow is duller overall.

Golden-crowned Sparrow - The male Golden-crowned Sparrow has brown-streaked upperparts and a plain gray breast. The yellow crown is bordered by a wide black cap and a gray cheek and collar. The bill is gray and the wings are brown with two white wing bars.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow: Large sparrow, brown-streaked upperparts and plain gray breast. Yellow crown is bordered by a wide black cap; cheek and collar are black. Bill is gray. Wings are brown with two white bars. Short flights, alternates rapid wing beats with brief periods of wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "oh-dear-me", "I'm so weary", "tseet", "chink"

● Foraging & Feeding: Golden-crowned Sparrow: Diet consists of seeds, insects, flowers, buds, small seedlings, fruits, and berries; forages on the ground and in low foliage.

● Breeding & nesting: Golden-crowned Sparrow: Three to five creamy white to pale blue eggs with brown blotches are laid in a neat nest cup well hidden in a dense weed clump or bush. Incubation ranges from 11 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Golden-crowned Sparrow: Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow has a pink to orange bill, brown striped head, and a buff back with rufous streaks. House Sparrow has a heavier bill, shorter tail, and is paler brown overall.

Flight Pattern

Short flights wih rapid wing beats.

Golden-crowned Sparrow Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Golden-crowned Sparrow: Breeds from western Alaska south to northwestern Washington. Spends winters from Kodiak Island and coastal Alaska south to Baja California. Preferred habitats include alpine meadows and coniferous forest clearings; winters in coastal brushlands and chaparral.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.1 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America