White-throated sparrow

Last updated

White-throated sparrow
Zonotrichia albicollis CT1.jpg
White-throated sparrow in Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, Quebec, Canada
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passerellidae
Genus: Zonotrichia
Species:
Z. albicollis
Binomial name
Zonotrichia albicollis
(Gmelin, JF, 1789)
Zonotrichia albicollis map.svg
Range
  Year-round
  Breeding areas
  Migration areas
  Non-breeding areas
Close-up of a white-throated sparrow head, with bright white throat and yellow lore White-throated sparrow in CP close up (02081).jpg
Close-up of a white-throated sparrow head, with bright white throat and yellow lore
White-throated sparrows prefer to forage on the ground. IGP4374 (2).jpg
White-throated sparrows prefer to forage on the ground.

The white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) is a passerine bird of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. It breeds in northern North America and winters in the southern United States.

Contents

Taxonomy

In 1760 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the white-throated sparrow in the second volume of his Gleanings of Natural History. He used the current English name. Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a "neat drawing in colours" supplied by the American naturalist William Bartram from Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. [2] When the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1789 he included the white-throated sparrow. He placed it with the finches in the genus Fringilla and coined the binomial name Fringilla albicollis. [3] The white-throated sparrow is now one of five American sparrows placed in the genus Zonotrichia that was introduced by William Swainson in 1832. [4] The genus name is from Ancient Greek ζωνη (zōnē) meaning "band" and θριξ (thrix), τριχος (trikhos) meaning "hair". The specific epithet albicollis combines Latin albus meaning "white" with Modern Latin -collis meaning "necked". [5] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [4]

Description

The white-throated sparrow is a passerine bird of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. It measures 15 to 19 cm (5.9 to 7.5 in) in length with a wingspan of 23 cm (9.1 in). Typical weight is 22 to 32 g (0.78 to 1.13 oz), with an average of 26 g (0.92 oz). [6] [7] Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 6.3 to 7.9 cm (2.5 to 3.1 in), the tail is 6.8 to 7.7 cm (2.7 to 3.0 in), the bill is 1 to 1.2 cm (0.39 to 0.47 in) and the tarsus is 2.2 to 2.4 cm (0.87 to 0.94 in). [8] They are similar in appearance to the white-crowned sparrow, but with white throat markings and yellow lores.

There are two adult plumage variations known as the tan-striped and white-striped forms. On the white-striped form the crown is black with a white central stripe. The supercilium is white as well. The auriculars are gray with the upper edge forming a black eye line. [6]

On the tan form, the crown is dark brown with a tan central stripe. The supercilium is tan as well. The auriculars are gray/light brown with the upper edge forming a brown eye line. Both variations feature dark eyes, a white throat, yellow lores and gray bill. [6] There is variation and some individuals may show dark lateral stripes of each side of the throat.

They almost always pair with the opposite color morph for breeding. The two color morphs occur in approximately equal numbers. Both male and female white-striped birds are more aggressive than tan-striped birds during the breeding season. [9] [10] The aggression is linked to an increased rate of estrogen receptor alpha expression in white-striped birds. [11]

The breast has gray/tan streaks and the streaks continue down the flanks but the belly is generally light gray. The wings are rufous with two distinct white wing bars. Sexes are morphologically similar. [6]

Behavior

Breeding

White-throated sparrows breed in central Canada and New England. They nest either on the ground under shrubs or low in trees in deciduous or mixed forest areas and lay three to five brown-marked blue or green-white eggs.

The tan and white morphs of white-throated sparrows use different reproductive strategies. Tan males invest in parental care and guard their mates from others searching for extra pair copulations (EPCs). White males invest in securing additional mates and EPCs through song advertisement and intruding into neighboring territory. Female morphs have similar differences, where tan females invest in parental care and white females solicit EPCs and engage in brood parasitism, leaving their eggs in another's nest to be raised and fed. Mating with the opposite morphs and using alternative reproductive strategies helps maintain competitive equilibrium. [12] This behaviour has been described genetically to follow from the chromosomal inversion of a supergene which acts as an extra pair of sex-determining genes, resulting in four phenotypes that reproduce in a disassortative mating pattern. [13] [14] [15]

Wintering and migration

In winter, this species migrates to the southern and eastern United States. They are differential migrants with females migrating farther, increasing the proportion of females at lower latitudes in the Atlantic flyway. Females are smaller so they would not perform as optimally at colder, higher latitudes, and females avoid competition with the dominant males of the winter hierarchies by migrating farther. There is also no benefit for females to be among the first to return after winter, so migrating farther allows the males to return and establish territory a few weeks before their arrival. [16] It stays year round in the Atlantic provinces of Canada. This bird is a rare vagrant to western Europe. Alongside some other species such as the cardinal, dark-eyed junco, song sparrow and chickadees, this species ranks among the most abundant native birds during winter in eastern North America. [17]

Despite a high level of conspecific rivalry within white-throated sparrows, this species is often dominated by other seed-eating winter residents, even those that are no larger than itself like the song sparrow, and thus may endure high levels of predation while foraging since restricted to sub-optimal sites at times by competition. [18] Not to mention numerous mammalian carnivores, at least ten avian predators often hunt them and they are among the most regular prey species for some smaller raptors, i.e. the sharp-shinned hawk and eastern screech-owl. [19] [20]

Diet

These birds forage on the ground under or near thickets or in low vegetation by kicking backward with both feet simultaneously. They mainly eat seeds, insects and berries, and are attracted to bird feeders. Blackberries, grapes, and rose hips are some fruits they eat. One of its favorite seeds is millet, but it will also feed on black oil sunflower and different seeds. [21] During the summer, insects and other small invertebrates make up a larger portion of their diet. [22]

Song and calls

Song of the white-throated sparrow

White-throated sparrows produce song laterally through the left side of their syrinx, and control of their syrinx involves both their central and peripheral nervous systems. After damage to motor control of the left side of the syrinx, individuals were still able to produce sound but their song pattern was distorted, indicating the left side chiefly controls their production of song. [23] There are at least two distinct songs sung by this species. One consists of an initial note, followed by three or so repeated notes at an interval of about a major third above. The second song consists of an initial note, a second a whole step lower, and a third note, repeated two or three times, about a minor third below that. This second song is commonly described by use of mnemonics with the cadence of "Po-or Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody" (or "O-oh sweet Canada, Canada, Canada") The rhythm is very regular, and the timbre could be described as pinched. These musical intervals are only approximate; to a human ear the song often sounds out of tune. The repeated note will often change in pitch very slightly, contributing to this effect.

As reported by National Geographic in 2020, ornithologists have discovered a new song for the white-throated sparrow. This bird song begins in the same way as the typical song, but with a subtle difference: the repeating triplets, as in "Peabody", become doublets, as in "Cherry", ending with a final single tone. This new tune began to appear in British Columbia, Canada, and then spread east. [24]

The white-throated sparrow also has at least two calls, in addition to its song.

Threats

In a 2019 study based on monitoring efforts dating from 1978-2016, white-throated sparrows were found to be one of the most susceptible birds to building collisions, even being referred to as "super colliders". Whereas some common Chicago birds, such as Warbling vireos (of which only two victims were found) or Least flycatchers, only appeared dozens of times as fatalities, as many as 10,000 white-throated sparrows were found in the same period. This may well be caused by both their attraction to artificial light as well as their use of nocturnal flight calls, causing a positive feedback loop wherein the sparrows are constantly attracted by both light and sound to their demise. [25] [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-crowned sparrow</span> Species of bird

The white-crowned sparrow is a species of passerine bird native to North America. A medium-sized member of the New World sparrow family, this species is marked by a grey face and black and white streaking on the upper head. It breeds in brushy areas in the taiga and tundra of the northernmost parts of the continent and in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific coast. While southerly populations in the Rocky Mountains and coast are largely resident, the breeding populations of the northerly part of its range are migratory and can be found as wintering or passage visitors through most of North America south to central Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Song sparrow</span> Species of bird

The song sparrow is a medium-sized New World sparrow. Among the native sparrows in North America, it is easily one of the most abundant, variable and adaptable species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruff (bird)</span> Species of bird

The ruff is a medium-sized wading bird that breeds in marshes and wet meadows across northern Eurasia. This highly gregarious sandpiper is migratory and sometimes forms huge flocks in its winter grounds, which include southern and western Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collared flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The collared flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family, one of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers. It breeds in southeast Europe and Eastern France to the Balkan Peninsula and Ukraine and is migratory, wintering in sub Sahara Africa. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnolia warbler</span> Species of bird

The magnolia warbler is a member of the wood warbler family Parulidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swamp sparrow</span> Species of bird

The swamp sparrow is a medium-sized New World sparrow related to the song sparrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-throated bee-eater</span> Species of bird

The white-throated bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in semi-desert along the southern edge of the Sahara, Africa. The white-throated bee-eater is migratory, wintering in a completely different habitat in the equatorial rain forests of Africa from southern Senegal to Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-throated gray warbler</span> Species of bird

The black-throated gray warbler or black-throated grey warbler is a passerine bird of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It is 13 cm (5.1 in) long and has gray and white plumage with black markings. The male has the bold black throat of its name, and black stripes on its head, as well as black streaks on its flanks; the female is a paler version of the male, with a white throat and less distinct black markings on the flanks and wings. It breeds in western North America from British Columbia to New Mexico, and winters in Mexico and the southwestern United States. The habitats it prefers are coniferous and mixed forests and scrubland, especially those with pinyon pines, junipers, sagebrush, and oaks. Its nest is an open cup of plant fibers lined with feathers, built a few metres from the ground in the branches of a tree or shrub. Three to five eggs are laid, and young are fed by both parents. Common in its breeding range, it does not seem to be seriously threatened by human activities, unlike many migratory warblers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauraque</span> Species of bird

The pauraque – also called the common pauraque to distinguish it from similar species – is a nightjar species, one of two birds in the genus Nyctidromus. It breeds in the subtropical and tropical regions of the New World, and except for northernmost birds it is largely resident all year round.

Assortative mating is a mating pattern and a form of sexual selection in which individuals with similar phenotypes or genotypes mate with one another more frequently than would be expected under a random mating pattern.

A supergene is a chromosomal region encompassing multiple neighboring genes that are inherited together because of close genetic linkage, i.e. much less recombination than would normally be expected. This mode of inheritance can be due to genomic rearrangements between supergene variants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-crowned sparrow</span> Species of bird

The golden-crowned sparrow is a large New World sparrow found in the western part of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harris's sparrow</span> Species of bird

Harris's sparrow is a large sparrow. Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada, making it Canada's only endemic breeding bird. In the winter they migrate to the Great Plains states of the United States, from southern South Dakota to central Texas. The common name of this species commemorates the American amateur ornithologist Edward Harris (1799–1863).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-throated sparrow</span> Species of bird

The black-throated sparrow is a small New World sparrow primarily found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is the only member of the genus Amphispiza; the five-striped sparrow, formerly also classified in Amphispiza, is now thought to be in the monotypic genus Amphispizopsis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-collared sparrow</span> Species of bird

The rufous-collared sparrow or Andean sparrow is an American sparrow found in a wide range of habitats, often near humans, from the extreme south-east of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It has diverse vocalizations, which have been intensely studied since the 1970s, particularly by Paul Handford and Stephen C. Lougheed (UWO), Fernando Nottebohm and Pablo Luis Tubaro (UBA). Local names for this bird include the Portuguese tico-tico, the Spanish copetón ("tufted") in Colombia, as well as chingolo and chincol, comemaíz "corn eater" in Costa Rica, and Cigua de Constanza in the Dominican Republic.

Passerine birds produce song through the vocal organ, the syrinx, which is composed of bilaterally symmetric halves located where the trachea separates into the two bronchi. Using endoscopic techniques, it has been observed that song is produced by air passing between a set of medial and lateral labia on each side of the syrinx. Song is produced bilaterally, in both halves, through each separate set of labia unless air is prevented from flowing through one side of the syrinx. Birds regulate the airflow through the syrinx with muscles—M. syringealis dorsalis and M. tracheobronchialis dorsalis—that control the medial and lateral labia in the syrinx, whose action may close off airflow. Song may, hence, be produced unilaterally through one side of the syrinx when the labia are closed in the opposite side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaina Marie Tuttle</span> Behavioral geneticist and biology professor

Elaina Marie Tuttle was an American behavioral geneticist and biology professor whose academic research focused on ornithology and study of the white-throated sparrow. During her graduate and post-doctoral work, she investigated how bird sexual selection has evolved and the trade-offs in reproduction that have occurred alongside sperm competition mechanisms in sparrows and in the fairy wren.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2020). "Zonotrichia albicollis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T22721085A138469176. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22721085A138469176.en . Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Edwards, George (1760). Gleanings of Natural History, Exhibiting Figures of Quadrupeds, Birds, Insects, Plants &c. Vol. 2. London: Printed for the author. p. 198, Plate 304.
  3. ↑ Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1788). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 2 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg. Emanuel. Beer. pp. 921–922.
  4. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "New World Sparrows, Bush Tanagers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  414, 38. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Sibley, David A. (2000). National Audubon Society The Sibley Field Guide to Birds . New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p.  494. ISBN   0-679-45122-6.
  7. ↑ Wolfson, Albert (1954). "Body Weight and Fat Deposition in Captive White-Throated Sparrows in Relation to the Mechanics of Migration". The Wilson Bulletin. 66 (2): 112–118. JSTOR   4158288.
  8. ↑ Byers, Clive; Olsson, Urban (1995). Sparrows and Buntings: A Guide to the Sparrows and Buntings of North America and the World. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN   978-0-395-73873-3.
  9. ↑ GrrlScientist (26 May 2011). "Sparrows show us a new way to have sexes". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  10. ↑ Arnold, Carrie (24 November 2016). "The sparrow with four sexes". Nature. 539 (7630): 482–484. doi:10.1038/539482a. PMID   27882995. S2CID   4457436.
  11. ↑ "Study shows how a single gene drives aggression in wild songbird". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  12. ↑ Tuttle, Elaina (1 May 2003). "Alternative reproductive strategies in the white-throated sparrow: behavioral and genetic evidence". Behavioral Ecology. 14 (3): 425–432. doi: 10.1093/beheco/14.3.425 .
  13. ↑ Tuttle, Elaina M.; Bergland, Alan O.; Korody, Marisa L.; Brewer, Michael S.; Newhouse, Daniel J.; Minx, Patrick; Stager, Maria; Betuel, Adam; Cheviron, Zachary A.; Warren, Wesley C.; Gonser, Rusty A.; Balakrishnan, Christopher N. (February 2016). "Divergence and Functional Degradation of a Sex Chromosome-like Supergene". Current Biology. 26 (3): 344–350. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.11.069. PMC   4747794 . PMID   26804558.
  14. ↑ Campagna, Leonardo (8 February 2016). "Supergenes: The Genomic Architecture of a Bird with Four Sexes". Current Biology. 26 (3): R105–R107. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.005 . PMID   26859263. S2CID   2099899.
  15. ↑ Arnold, Carrie (24 November 2016). "The sparrow with four sexes". Nature. 539 (7630): 482–484. doi:10.1038/539482a. ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   27882995. S2CID   4457436.
  16. ↑ Jenkins, Kendell; Cristol, Daniel (1 April 2002). "Evidence of Differential Migration by Sex in White-Throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia Albicollis)". The Auk. 119 (2): 539–543. doi: 10.1093/auk/119.2.539 .
  17. ↑ Bock, C. E.; Prickles, R. E. (1983). "Range size and local abundance of some North American songbirds: a positive correlation". The American Naturalist. 122 (2): 295–299. doi:10.1086/284136. JSTOR   2461236. S2CID   84017778.
  18. ↑ Piper, W. H. (1990). "Exposure to predators and access to food in wintering white-throated sparrows Zonotrichia albicollis". Behaviour. 112 (3/4): 284–298. doi:10.1163/156853990x00248. JSTOR   4534842.
  19. ↑ Roth, T. C. II; Lima, S. L. (2007). "The predatory behavior of wintering Accipiter hawks: temporal patterns in activity of predators and prey". Oecologia. 152 (1): 169–178. Bibcode:2007Oecol.152..169R. doi:10.1007/s00442-006-0638-2. PMID   17216210. S2CID   6114288.
  20. ↑ VanCamp, L. F.; Henry, C. J. (1975). "The screech owl: its life history and population ecology in northern Ohio". North American Fauna. 71 (75): 1–65. doi:10.3996/nafa.71.0001. hdl: 2027/uc1.aa0006758312 . Archived from the original on September 24, 2017.
  21. ↑ https://abcbirds.org/bird/white-throated-sparrow/. White-throated-Sparrow. American Bird Conservancy
  22. ↑ https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/white-throated-sparrow. Missouri Department of Conservation. White-throated Sparrow.
  23. ↑ Lemon, Robert (September 1973). "Nervous control of the syrinx in White‐throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis)". Journal of Zoology. 171 (1): 131–140. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1973.tb07520.x.
  24. ↑ Sparrows are singing a new song, in a rapid, unprecedented shift. Wetzel, Corryn.National Geographic, July 2, 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  25. ↑ Winger, Benjamin M.; Weeks, Brian C.; Farnsworth, Andrew; Jones, Andrew W.; Hennen, Mary; Willard, David E. (2019-04-10). "Nocturnal flight-calling behaviour predicts vulnerability to artificial light in migratory birds". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286 (1900): 20190364. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0364. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC   6501673 . PMID   30940055.
  26. ↑ "LIGHTS OUT: A MOVEMENT TO HELP MIGRATING BIRDS: A KidLit Bird Book Review". 10,000 Birds. 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.