White-throated Sparrows Migrating
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) numbers are building in northern New England as they head towards the mid-October peak of their migration south. Even though they are no longer constantly singing their “Poor Sam Peabody-Peabody-Peabody” song, which allows quick identification, White-throated Sparrows’ white throats, striped crowns and yellow lores (the area between the eye and the bill) make them one of the easier sparrows to identify. Don’t be surprised if you see this bird with a tan, and not white, crown. There are two color forms, white-crowned and tan-crowned. Interestingly, an individual bird almost always mates with a bird of the opposite color form. Males of both color types prefer females with white stripes, but both kinds of females prefer tan-striped males.
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