White-crowned Sparrow Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  The White-crowned Sparrow is a large sparrow with a small bill and a long tail. The head can look distinctly peaked or smooth and flat, depending on the bird’s attitude.

  Relative Size

  Slightly larger than a Song Sparrow

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 5.9-6.3 in (15-16 cm)
    • Weight: 0.9-1.0 oz (25-28 g)
    • Wingspan: 8.3-9.4 in (21-24 cm)

  © Michel Bourque / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  First impressions of White-crowned Sparrows tend to be of a plain, pale-gray bird; next your eye is drawn to the very bold black-and-white stripes on the head and the pale pink or yellow bill. Learn this bird's size and shape so you're ready to identify young birds that have brown, not black, markings on the head.

• Behavior

  You’ll see White-crowned Sparrows low at the edges of brushy habitat, hopping on the ground or on branches usually below waist level. They’re also found in open ground (particularly on their breeding grounds) but typically with the safety of shrubs or trees nearby.
• Habitat

  Look for White-crowned Sparrows in places where safe tangles of brush mix with open or grassy ground for foraging. For much of the United States, White-crowned Sparrows are most likely in winter (although two races live year round in the West, along the coast and in the mountains).

Regional Differences

White-crowned Sparrows that breed along the Pacific Coast tend to have yellow bills and duller white head stripes. Birds that breed from Alaska to Hudson Bay tend to have orange bills and white or gray lores. Birds that breed east of Hudson Bay and in the Rockies tend to have pink bills with black lores that merge with the black head stripes.

Regional Photos

© Craig Fosdick / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 20, 2016

© Griffin Richards / Macaulay LibraryOregon, June 07, 2017

© Tim Lenz / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, October 30, 2008