White-throated sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis

Photo by Simon Barrette (Wikipedia)

Common name:
white-throated sparrow (en); escrevedeira-de-garganta-branca (pt); bruant à gorge blanche (fr); chingolo gorgiblanco (es); weißkehlammer (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Emberizidae

Range:
This species breeds throughout most of Canada, with the exception of the northernmost areas and the western coast, and also in the north-eastern Unite States. They migrate south to winter throughout the eastern United States, along the western coast of the Unite States and through the southern United states into northern Mexico.

Size:
These birds are 16-18 cm long and have a wingspan of 20-23 cm. They weigh 22-32 g.

Habitat:
The white-throated sparrow is found in temperate forests, especially in the undergrowth and along clearings and forests edges, in scrublands, rural gardens and in urban parks and large gardens.

Diet:
They mainly feed on seeds, buds, fruits and berries, but also some insects, especially when feeding the young.

Breeding:
White-throated sparrows breed in April-July. The nest is a cup made of grasses, wood chips, twigs, pine needles and rootlets, and lined with fine grasses, rootlets and hair. It is placed on the ground, among scrubs or near a tree or stump. The female lays 3-6 blue or greenish-blue eggs with dark markings, which she incubates alone for 11-14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 7-12 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 140 million individuals. The population population has had a stable trend over the last 4 decades.