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Thursday, January 18, 2024

White throats and red bellies

Sparrows are the most common birds to visit our yard and feeders. During the warm months, resident Chipping Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Eastern Towhees and a few Field Sparrows prevail, along with introduced House Sparrows. All disappear in winter, except for a few hardy Song Sparrows and House Sparrows, replaced by an influx of Juncos and White-throated Sparrows. Less common to rare during the winter are Fox Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows, species seen more frequently during winter when we lived part-time in northern Illinois.

When I was a beginning birder in the 1940s we saw that White-throated Sparrows occurred in two rather distinct plumages, more evident in late winter, before they departed for more northern breeding ranges. The bird books identified those with dull-looking tan head stripes and more heavily streaked breasts as "Immature:"  




Those with bright white head stripes and clearer breasts were said to exhibit "adult" plumage:



Since then, studies have shown that the two plumages were not tied to their age or sex. Indeed, both color morphs occupy the same range and are genetically identical except for a non sex-linked gene. This excerpt from Birds of the World offers a succinct description of their differing behaviors:

Throughout its extensive range the White-throated Sparrow... exhibits plumage polymorphism (white-striped and tan-striped morphs) in both sexes, most obvious in the breeding season, associated with a difference in an autosome. These differences in plumage and karyotype are maintained by negative assortative (disassortative) mating – each morph mates with its opposite. Plumage differences are paralleled by differences in behavior and breeding strategy. White-striped (WS) males sing more, are more aggressive and more likely to engage in extra-pair copulation than their tan-striped (TS) counterparts. TS birds of both sexes provide more parental care than WS birds. REF: Birds of the World 

Dark-eyed Juncos visited the suet feeder...


...as did Blue Jays:


A Northern Cardinal perched In the bare Aspen:


I obtained only one decent view of a Tufted Titmouse:

White-throated Sparrows are aptly named for their eponymous patch, but the Red-bellied Woodpecker seems not to match its description. This is a female, which lacks red on her forehead. From this angle, she also appears to have a very white belly:

Ah, there's the red belly, on this male!


The cold rain and then two episodes of snow, followed by freezing rain, made MaryLou's walks out to put up and remove the feeders too treacherous, even though she relocated them to a spot nearer the home which was accessible on level ground but almost out of sight from the windows. The weather conditions confined us inside our house all week. Dreary skies were uninteresting, so I had to find old shots for my SKY and REFLECTION memes--

This is an image of sunrise through the dining room window, taken in February, 2022:

Our local lake before it froze over, in December, 2022:

This week's header: Garden steps 6 months ago, July, 2023


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Linking to:



Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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22 comments:

  1. You have wonderful bird photos. Love seeing the Sparrows. You have some different ones than the usual ones we see around here.

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  2. Sparrow is very very cute. What a series of portraits there. The scenery is gorgeous too

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  3. A fabulous set of photos as always. You have such interesting and colourful birds over there. Happy and healthy 2024, Diane

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  4. Sweet birds! And what a beautiful shot of the sun through the window! Aloha!

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  5. Beautiful setting for an early breakfast.

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  6. Love the photo of the sunlight shining through your dining room window. Very interesting about the polymorphism!

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  7. Beautiful images. I'm totally in awe of your knowledge of birds.

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  8. I love the birds in the dining room photo is fantastic!

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  9. All great bird shots but the light that emanated through your gorgeous window is heavenly.

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  10. Beautiful photos of your yard birds. You are seeing the same birds I see here in my yard. The Sparrow is a sweetie. Love your sunrise image and the lake view.
    Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  11. The garden steps sure look pretty. It's even chilly here in Florida today! Take care and enjoy your weekend!

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  12. I need to start paying closer attention to sparrows.

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  13. A captivating birdwatch from the comfort of your window! Stunning images!

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  14. I really enjoyed your collection of lovely photographs this morning, Ken.
    Your weather will improve soon and before you know it there will be breeding birds back in your yard looking for a prime nesting spot. And bird feeders.

    The information on the White-throated Sparrow is fascinating. We lived for several years in Maryland while stationed at Ft. Meade. That's where I got my "official" start in bird watching. The local Audubon chapter I joined had a regular member give very interesting talks, the first of which was about the plumage variations of the White-throated Sparrow. He offered the same explanation that is now the primary thought, as your article suggests. That was a nice guy named Chandler Robbins. Good times.

    Take care and stay warm.

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  15. Loved seeing these species when I was in Canada - great pictures. Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  16. What beautiful photos so lear and colourful too you never fail :-)

    Have a redbellietastic week 👍

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  17. Marvelous captures and interesting information too.
    Never knew that there were so many types of sparrows, have seen only the house sparrows here. Thank you.

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  18. Lovely collection of photographs. Sparrows are such adorable sights. Sparrows are a nostalgic sight for me. I used to watch them play in our front yard when I was a kid. And then they just disappeared from those parts. :(

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  19. Beautiful close photos of the birds and of your lake and dining room! Thanks for sharing.....

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