White-throated Sparrows, Post # 1,000

White-throated Sparrows breed in the northernmost reaches of North America and spend winter in the eastern half of the US and along the west coast. Connecticut is just south of their nesting range, but they are now common visitors to our feeders. 

When I started keeping a bird list in the 1940s, I noticed that the crown stripes of this species varied from bright white to dull brownish. It was generally believed that those with tan crown stripes were immature birds, which then developed white crowns as adults. All my field guides reinforced this view into the 1950s. 

It was not until 1961 that it was established that these were the life-long head patterns of two different color morphs of this species. The population of White-throated Sparrows is divided into two plumage types (morphs) with white-striped or tan-striped heads of both males and females. Interestingly, the males almost always mate with females of the opposite morph. Both sexes of each morph share different behavior patterns,  

Only the male tan-striped (TS) morphs sing, but white-striped (WS) birds of both sexes sing. However, WS males sing more and are "more aggressive and more likely to engage in extra-pair copulation than their TS counterparts. TS birds of both sexes provide more parental care than WS birds." (REF: Birds of the World). 

I photographed this white-striped bird in 2010 in Illinois. Note the bright yellow spot above and in front of its eye:

More examples of white-striped individuals:

The differences in crown color are most striking during breeding season. During the winter, both morphs may look rather similar, as their crown stipes fade and may look grayish. The chest of tan-striped morphs tends to be more prominently streaked, while those of white-striped usually have a more uniform gray chest.  These are probably tan-striped individuals:

The above individual turned its head, better revealing the contrast between the bright white throat and the tan crown stripe. It also has a central breast spot, a  less common feature{

This tan-striped individual has a densely streaked breast:

Another, more heavily streaked sparrow is often present at the feeders. The Song Sparrow has a characteristic central breast spot. When viewed head-on, it exhibits a small white throat patch, centered between two black "whiskers:"

Song Sparrow fluffed up against the cold:

The most common feeder bird here in our new home in Connecticut is an unstreaked sparrow. The Dark-eyed Junco does not appear in southern Florida. Indeed, it retreats to breed in more northern and high mountainous areas to the north. 

A (Slate-colored) Dark-eyed Junco shares sunflower seeds with a White-throated Sparrow:

Luckily I had prepared the above segment before I lost the use of my desktop computer for almost a week. 

We witnessed a splendid sunset on March 8:

The next evening the weather took a turn and snow began falling. Before sunrise, snow blanketed the rhododendrons:

View of bird feeder this morning from the front door of our suite:

The rising sun reflected on the treetops:

Tufted Titmouse:

I just realized that this is my 1,000th blog post. I started back in 2006. The first bird photo I posted was in September 20, 2006, a poor digiscopic image of a Northern Wheatear, far out of range in Everglades National Park., Chasing the White Arse Bird

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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