All birds New World Sparrows
White-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys
Here October to May.
Recorded by Ron Overholtz. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, via xeno-canto, trimmed and volume evened out.
Look for
- Black and white stripes on top of the head. There are 4 black stripes and 3 white ones.
- A plain gray chest and throat, with a pink or orange bill.
- Brown wings with 2 thin white bars. Males and females look alike.
A little about it
White-crowned Sparrows spend the winter here. They come in early October and stay until early May, and October has the most. There are more of them in central and western Oklahoma than in the east.
They travel in flocks of 6 to 30 birds. Harris's Sparrows and Field Sparrows sometimes join the flock. If you get too close, they fly up to the tops of bushes.
They hop and run on the ground to find food. In winter they eat mostly seeds from weeds and grass. At feeders, they'd rather eat on the ground or from a low tray, 6 to 18 inches up.
In summer they nest far up north and high in the mountains. They mostly migrate at night. Up north, the nest is usually a cup on the ground, and the female lays 4 or 5 pale green eggs with reddish brown spots.
Fun fact
White-crowned Sparrows in different places sing their song a little differently, like having an accent. Scientists have studied these songs closely.
When it's here
- January: here
- February: here
- March: here
- April: here
- May: here
- June: not here
- July: not here
- August: not here
- September: not here
- October: here
- November: here
- December: here
Taller bars mean more sightings. Most often seen in October.
How big
About 6 inches. About as big as a sparrow, and a little smaller than a Harris's Sparrow.
Where to look
Brushy fields, thickets, and fences with tall grass and weeds. It's more of a country bird, but it visits feeders at the edges of towns.
People have spotted it at Lake Thunderbird State Park.
Could it be something else?
White-throated Sparrow
It has a striped head too, but it has a bright white throat patch and a yellow spot between the bill and the eye. Its bill is gray.
Young White-crowned Sparrow
In their first winter, young birds have tan and brown stripes on the head in place of black and white. Look for the same plain gray chest and pink-orange bill.
More photos
Where these facts come from
- Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation field guide
- Audubon Guide to North American Birds
- When it's here: Sightings shared on iNaturalist in the 8 counties, all years.