White-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys

Introduction

A common breeding bird across much of Canada and the north-western United States, White-crowned Sparrows normally winter in the United States and Mexico. A few individuals have occurred in Britain & Ireland, some of which have hitched a lift on ships carrying grain.

Because male White-crowned Sparrows learn the songs they grew up with and do not travel far from where they were raised, song dialects form – males on the edge of two dialects may be 'bilingual'.

Key Stats

Status

Very rare

Weight

26.5g

Seasonality

BTO Records

306 records

Population and distribution stats for:

No data

No current data

No current data

No data

No current data

No current data

Status and Trends

Population size, trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO and partnership surveys and atlasses with data collected by BTO volunteers.

Conservation Status

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This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)

Least Concern

Schedule 1 Licence required (to disturb)*

Birds Directive Annex 1

* A guide only. Check details with the original legislation, especially those marked with an asterisk. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Size

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BOU Category

Source

First Record*

Fair Isle, 1977

* First documented occurrence. Most species undoubtedly occurred before this. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Change

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Population trends of this scarce species are not routinely monitored.

Distribution

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This species is a rare vagrant and was recorded during Bird Atlas 2007–11 as shown on the map.

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

These figures come from Bird Atlas 2007 and indicate how widespread a species is.

No. occupied in winter

% occupied in winter

0.03%

Bird Atlas distribution maps show where bird species breed or winter in Britain and Ireland. For breeding maps, larger dots indicate higher certainty the species bred in that area.

Winter Distribution for White-crowned Sparrow

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

Breeding Distribution for White-crowned Sparrow

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

To view and download up-to-date distribution information aggregated from across BTO and partnership surveys and schemes, see our data holdings on the NBN Atlas.

Distribution Change

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This vagrant is too rarely reported to map distribution change.

Seasonality

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This species has been too rarely reported to BirdTrack during 2011–22 to properly assess seasonality.

Movement

Information about White-crowned Sparrow movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

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View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

European movements

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EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for White-crowned Sparrow, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Survival and Longevity

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Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for White-crowned Sparrow

Classification and Codes

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Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passerellidae
Scientific name: Zonotrichia leucophrys
Authority: JR Forster, 1772

BTO 5-letter code: WHCSP
Euring code number: 18390

Alternate species names

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Catalan: sit de coroneta blanca
Czech: strnadec belokorunkatý
Danish: Hvidkronet Spurv
Dutch: Witkruingors
Estonian: valgekiird-sidrik
Finnish: juovapääsirkku
French: Bruant à couronne blanche

German: Dachsammer
Hungarian: koronás verébsármány
Icelandic: Kúftittlingur
Italian: Passero coronabianca
Latvian: baltgalvas zvirbulis
Lithuanian: baltabruve zonotrichija
Norwegian: Hvitkronespurv

Polish: pasówka bialobrewa
Portuguese: tico-tico-coroado
Slovak: strnádlik jazvecí
Slovenian: vrabonad
Spanish: Chingolo coroniblanco
Swedish: vitkronad sparv

More Evidence

More evidence from Conservation Evidence.com

Partners

Birdfacts is based on data collected by volunteers participating in surveys that are organised and funded by BTO, RSPB, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, JNCC and other partners.

BTO

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

JNCC

RSPB

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