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White-crowned sparrows

Posted November 21, 2007

As I was leaving for work yesterday, rustling sounds in the frost-bitten swamp sunflowers caught my attention. I'd seen some goldfinches foraging for seeds there last weekend. They're dull in color now, nothing like their spring and summer colors. But these birds were foraging on the ground, poking around in the leaf litter. There were probably 5 or 6 of them in a small area, joined by a Eastern Towhee kicking the leaf litter.

They scuffled around a bit like the towhee, kicking the litter, bringing up seeds to eat. Their distinctive striped heads seemed to fit white-crowned sparrows, but I didn't have my binoculars with me as I left the house! White-crowned sparrows are winter residents here, breeding further north in the summer. They do scratch around in leaf litter, eating seeds and arthropods. This excellent Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology site All About Birds has more information about white-crowned sparrows.