Golden-crowned sparrow

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Golden-crowned sparrow
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene–present
Adult; males and females are similarly plumaged

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passerellidae
Genus: Zonotrichia
Species:
Z. atricapilla
Binomial name
Zonotrichia atricapilla
(Gmelin, 1789)
Range of Z. atricapilla
  Breeding
  Migration
  Nonbreeding
Synonyms

Emberiza atricapilla Gmelin, 1789
Zonotrichia coronata Pallas, 1844

The golden-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) is a large New World sparrow found in the western part of North America.

Systematics

The golden-crowned sparrow is one of five species in the

sister species with, and very closely related to, the white-crowned sparrow; studies of mitochondrial DNA show the two evolved into separate species very recently in geologic time. The white-throated sparrow is a slightly more distant relative.[4] Hybridization with both white-crowned and white-throated sparrows has been reported.[3]

Ornithologist

Systema naturae.[5] Various authorities in the 1800s (including John James Audubon) placed it in the genus Fringilla, but many assigned it to its current genus, Zonotrichia, once William John Swainson had established that genus. Peter Simon Pallas described the same species in 1844 as Zonotrichia coronata and, for much of the 1800s, this was the name used by most authorities.[6]

In the bird's scientific name, the genus name Zonotrichia is a compound word: from

Latin for "black-haired": ater (transl. black) and capillus (transl. hair of the head).[8]

Description

The size and color of its crown patches help to determine a bird's status among its flock mates.

Measuring 15–18 cm (6–7 in) in length

buffier on the flanks.[12] Its wings and tail are brown, and it shows two white wing bars.[9] Its legs are pale brown, and its bill is dark, with the upper mandible darker than the lower. Its iris is brown.[12]

In the breeding season, the golden-crowned sparrow has a broad yellow central crown stripe which becomes pale gray towards the back of the head.[9]

Similar species

Although its distinctive crown patches allow for easy identification of the adult golden-crowned sparrow in breeding plumage, an immature or non-breeding bird might be mistaken for a white-crowned or white-throated sparrow. It is distinguished from the former by its crown pattern and dusky (rather than pale pink or yellowish) bill, and from the latter by its larger size, plain throat, and lack of a buff-colored central crown stripe.[13] A young or non-breeding bird may also resemble a female house sparrow, but can be distinguished by its larger size, darker plumage, longer tail and (usually) some amount of dull yellow feathering on its forehead.[14]

Distribution and habitat

The golden-crowned sparrow is common along the western edge of North America. It is a migratory species, breeding from north-central Alaska (including the

Yukon south to the northwestern corner of the US state of Washington, and wintering from southern coastal Alaska to northern Baja California.[5] It has been recorded as a vagrant in Japan and Russia,[1] and occasionally strays as far as the eastern coast of North America, from Nova Scotia to Florida.[5] In the winter, it is generally found in brushy areas,[11] (particularly chaparral), usually in dense shrubs.[14]

Behavior

The golden-crowned sparrow spends its winters in

agonistic behavior than are those showing differences, and the outcomes of such confrontations can be predicted based on the color of their black stripes. This suggests that social status in this species involves more complexity than a single signal will allow, and that the multiple color patches allow a gradient of interactions between flock mates.[16]

Feeding

Immature birds lack the distinctive head stripes of adults.

Like other Zonotrichia sparrows, the golden-crowned sparrow feeds on the ground,

filarees, common knotweed and poison oak among its known food sources.[19] Paired birds commonly forage together, with the male following the female.[17]

The species shows two weight peaks each year: one in mid-winter, and a much higher one shortly before it begins its migration north in the spring. The latter elevated weight is maintained until the bird reaches its breeding grounds.[20]

Breeding and lifespan

The breeding season runs from late May through early August. Males on the breeding ground sing throughout the day from an exposed perch.

altricial—born naked, blind and helpless—but fledge from the nest within 12 days.[10] Both parents feed the young.[5]

The oldest known golden-crowned sparrow lived at least 10 years and 6 months; it was banded as an adult one winter, and recaptured nine winters later.[22]

Voice

The song is a three-note whistle, descending in pitch. It is very distinctive, and often described as oh-dear-me. The call also sounds like the words I'm so weary, so Alaskan gold miners along the trails called this bird "Weary Willie". However, birds in the mountains of British Columbia have been reported to have a trill on the third note, rather than a clear whistle as in other populations. These songs are heard mainly in the breeding season, but also in the wintering grounds just after fall migration as well as just before they take off for spring migration.[23] Like other Zonotrichia sparrows, it has a sharp, distinctive call note,[11] which is transcribed as tsew.[14]

Conservation and threats

The

national wildlife refuges.[17]

As with other flock-living

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Rising (1996), p. 204.
  3. ^ a b c Rising (1996), p. 212.
  4. JSTOR 4088098
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e Rising (1996), p. 211.
  6. ^ Ridgway, Robert; Friedmann, Herbert (1901). The Birds of North and Middle America. Washington, DC, USA: Government Printing Office. pp. 333–336.
  7. ^ Jobling (2010), p. 414.
  8. ^ Jobling (2010), p. 59.
  9. ^ a b c d e Rising (1996), p. 209.
  10. ^ .
  11. ^ .
  12. ^ a b c Rising (1996), p. 210.
  13. .
  14. ^ .
  15. .
  16. .
  17. ^ a b c d e f g "All About Birds: Golden-crowned Sparrow — Life History". The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  18. ^ Judd, Sylvester Dwight (1898). "Birds as Weed Destroyers". Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture. Washington, DC, USA: Department of Agriculture. p. 226.
  19. .
  20. .
  21. ^ Maynard, Charles Johnson (1890). Eggs of North American Birds. Boston, MA, USA: De Wolfe, Fiske and Co. p. 108.
  22. ^ Klimkiewicz, M. Kathleen. "Longevity Records of North American Birds: Coerebinae through Estrildidae" (PDF). Journal of Field Ornithology. 58 (3): 318–333.
  23. ^ Norment, C. J.; Hendricks, P.; Santonocito, R. (1998). "Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)". In Poole, A. (ed.). The Birds of North America Online. Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  24. ^ "Migratory Bird Program: Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act". U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  25. JSTOR 1368958
    .
  26. ^ McClure, H. Elliott (Oct–Dec 1987). "The Occurrence of Chiggers, Neoshoengastia americana, among Chaparral Birds of Southern California" (PDF). North American Bird Bander. 12 (4): 148–150.
  27. .
  28. ^ McClure, H. Elliot (Spring 1984). "The Occurrence of Hippoboscid Flies on Some Species of Birds in Southern California" (PDF). Journal of Field Ornithology. 55 (2): 230–240.
  29. PMID 14656000
    .

Works cited

External links