January, 2007 Bog Garden, Greensboro, NC
Photo © 2007 by Dan Chambers

Taken in Northern Randolph County, NC
Dec 31, 2006
photo © 2007 by Louise Brown

Taken at a Bird Banding Event
photos © 2004 by Louise Brown

Zonotrichia albicollis 

     This bird is found in the Southeast in the winter, from about mid-October to early May.  You can find them all over Guilford County; anywhere there is shrubbery and undergrowth.  They frequent suburban yards, parks, and woods. They can be found scratching in the leafy debris for seeds and insects. They will frequent bird feeders, especially underneath.  They usually congregate in small groups. It is a medium-sized sparrow with chocolate and black markings on the back, three white stripes on the crown, a fairly clear breast (immatures will have some “muddy” markings) and a distinctive white patch on the throat.  The males have bright yellow spots on their face on either side of the bill. The females are similar but the white throat and yellow spots are not as bright, same with the immatures.      When I was a kid I became very interested in birds. We had moved to Alabama and I became very aware of the White-throated Sparrow, which I had not seen before. A Christmas present one year was a book put out by the National Geographic Society called Song and Garden Birds of North America, which came complete with a little record of birdsongs.  One that intrigued me was that of the White-throated Sparrow.  On the record the narrator gave the mnemonic of the song, and then the actual birdsong was played.  (A mnemonic (ni-mo-nik) is a device that aids the memory) The common mnemonic for the song is “poor Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody” In fact; one old name for it is the Peabody Bird. In Canada, the bird is known to say, “Ah, poor Canada Canada Canada” and is sometimes called the Canada Bird.  Audubon referred to this bird as the “white-throated finch.”
     None of this really conveys the sweetness of the song, which can only be heard to be appreciated.  Sometimes they will only sing portions or fragments of their song, and their calls are a “chip” note similar to that of a Cardinal and a lisping “tseep”.
     The summer or breeding range is mostly in eastern North America north of Pennsylvania, and extending west through southern Canada. In winter they move south, throughout the eastern US west to the Rocky Mountains, with some on the west coast.  Their numbers are highest in the southeastern states except for Florida. They build their nests out of grasses and the young are altricial ((al-tri‛-shul), naked and helpless when hatched.)

 © 2004 by Louise Brown