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Saturday, October 12, 2013
I'm now waking up to this song that sounds like a chickadee trying to sing under water. I haven't looked under the feeders yet but I'm sure I'll see the fist wave of White-throated sparrows.
They nest in upper Michigan and Canada. Fall migration begins in September, and we usually start to see them by mid-October (before the first permanent snowfall). They migrate in loose flocks, flying at night and foraging during the day. As with most species, fall migration is slower than spring migration, with longer stopovers. We can probably expect them to stay in our area for a few weeks
Some fun facts:
White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
Order: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)
• Individual White-throated Sparrows have either white stripes on their head or tan stripes. These distinct color forms are genetic in origin. White-striped birds are more aggressive than tan-striped ones, and each bird almost always mates with a bird whose stripe color is opposite from their own. They all have distinct white throat feathers.
•White-throated Sparrows are known to migrate at night and begin their flights around sunset. Some research studies suggest they use star patterns as one means of navigation.
•A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a "crew", "flutter", "quarrel", and "ubiquity" of sparrows.
•The White-throated and White-crowned sparrows only pass through mid-Michigan as they migrate north or south in the spring and fall.
•You may hear the birds before you see them. I always think White-throated sparrows have a song that sounds like a chickadee yodeling. Birders describe their song as "poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody"
Order: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)
• Individual White-throated Sparrows have either white stripes on their head or tan stripes. These distinct color forms are genetic in origin. White-striped birds are more aggressive than tan-striped ones, and each bird almost always mates with a bird whose stripe color is opposite from their own. They all have distinct white throat feathers.
•A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a "crew", "flutter", "quarrel", and "ubiquity" of sparrows.
•The White-throated and White-crowned sparrows only pass through mid-Michigan as they migrate north or south in the spring and fall.
•You may hear the birds before you see them. I always think White-throated sparrows have a song that sounds like a chickadee yodeling. Birders describe their song as "poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody"
Related Articles:
What Bird is Singing Outside My Window: How to identify birds' songs http://bit.ly/qIoqqR
Sparrows Native to mid-Michigan http://bit.ly/oy9XGz
Which one of these birds is not like the others? http://bit.ly/qM1LQt
What birds winter in Michigan? http://bit.ly/rqQgU2
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