Birds of Central Oklahoma

All birds New World Sparrows

Harris's Sparrow, adult
Adult Photo by Rosario Douglas. CC BY, via iNaturalist.

Harris's Sparrow

Zonotrichia querula

Here November to April.

Recorded by Don Profota. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, via xeno-canto, trimmed and volume evened out.

Look for

  1. Grown-ups have black on the face that runs down onto the throat and chest. The rest of the head is tan or gray.
  2. A pink-orange bill. Males and females look alike.
  3. A bright white belly with a few dark streaks on the sides.

A little about it

Harris's Sparrows spend the winter here. A few arrive in mid-October, and most come in November. December has the most. They stay through April and are gone by early May.

In winter, these sparrows live mostly on the southern Great Plains. Up to 1 out of every 5 Harris's Sparrows spends the winter in Oklahoma.

They travel in flocks of 6 to 25 birds. They hop on the ground to find seeds, staying close to tall grass or bushes. If something scares them, the flock flies up to the top of a thicket and gives sharp calls. At feeders, they like millet and sunflower seeds scattered on the ground.

In summer, they nest far north in Canada, where the forest ends and the tundra begins. The nest is on the ground, hidden under a small bush. The female lays about 4 pale green eggs with brown marks.

Fun fact

This sparrow nests so far away, and hides so well, that nobody found its nest until 1931. People had found the nests of most other North American birds long before that.

When it's here

Taller bars mean more sightings. Most often seen in December.

How big

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7 to 8 inches. A big sparrow, a bit bigger than a House Sparrow.

Where to look

Brushy fields and thick tangles at the edges of woods. It's more of a country bird, but it visits feeders at the edges of towns.

  • Fields and roadsides
  • In the woods
  • At feeders

People have spotted it at Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge, Mitch Park, Martin Park Nature Center.

Could it be something else?

  • House Sparrow

    A male House Sparrow has a black bib too. A Harris's Sparrow is bigger, with a bright white belly and a pink-orange bill.

  • Young Harris's Sparrow

    Young birds don't have the full black face. They have a few black streaks on the forehead and a "necklace" of streaks across the chest. Look for the same pink bill and white belly.

More photos

Harris's Sparrow, young bird
Young bird Photo by Nick Varvel. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Where these facts come from