Birds Guide

Zonotrichia
White-crowned Sparrow
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Passeriformes   Family: Emberizidae   Genus: Zonotrichia Swainson, 1832
species
Z. leucophrys Z. albicollis Z. atricapilla Z. capensis Z. querula

Zonotrichia is a small genus of American sparrows. Four of the species are North American, but the Rufous-collared Sparrow breeds in highlands from the extreme southeast of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and on Hispaniola.

The species are

• White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
  White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis
  Golden-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla
  Rufous-collared Sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis
  Harris' Sparrow, Zonotrichia querula

These birds have brown backs streaked with black, and distinctive head markings. Their cup nests, built by the female, are of plant material lined with fine grasses and constructed on the ground, low in a tree or bush, or in a niche in a wall.

The female lays brown-blotched greenish-blue or greenish white eggs, which she incubates for 12-14 days. The male helps in feeding the chicks.

Zonotrichia sparrows feed on the ground on seeds, fallen grain, insects and spiders.

References

• Byers, Olsson and Curson, Buntings and Sparrows ISBN1-873403-19-4
• Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica, ISBN 0-0814-9600-4