White-crowned Sparrow Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: When I travel to certain parts of the western US, it seems like White-crowned Sparrows are...everywhere. We've traveled to Arizona a few times in winter and it seems like they're awfully common. There was a work conference scheduled every year in the first half of December in San Francisco, and if I got out to the coast and walked around, there they were downright abundant. Given all the birds I've seen in the western US, many of the photos below come from California or Arizona. However, we also get them in South Dakota in both the spring and the fall, although it seems I see them more in the fall. We also get a few that try to overwinter in southern South Dakota at times, and I have a few photos of them below as well.

My "favorite" photo of the species is of one of those West Coast birds. The place I like to walk in San Francisco is around the "Land's End" area along the coast. There's the old "Sutro Baths" area right on the coast, an old (abandoned) bathing establishment from the early 1900s that also has trails nearby. It's been a great little birding spot, both to see coastal species, as well as some upland species on the trails. The area is just absolutely thick with White-crowned Sparrows in early December, including this guy from December 9th, 2011.

White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys


White-crowned Sparrow 1	White-crowned Sparrow 2	White-crowned Sparrow 3	White-crowned Sparrow 4
October 10th, 2011	October 8th, 2008	February 10th, 2007	April 19th, 2007
Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota	Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Palisades State Park, South Dakota	Point Reyes State Park, California
Profile of a bird foraging on the ground	Bird in early morning sun in fall foliage	First-year bird hanging out on a dead branch	Sparrow foraging on the ground in the mulch

White-crowned Sparrow 5	White-crowned Sparrow 6	White-crowned Sparrow 7	White-crowned Sparrow 8
October 10th, 2011	January 14th, 2007	October 8th, 2008	October 8th, 2008
Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota	Palisades State Park, South Dakota	Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Minnehaha County, South Dakota
Bird strutting its stuff on the open prairie	Juvenile sparrow foraging in the snow	Juvenile bird posing in the autumn foliage	Adult sparrow in a brushy thicket

White-crowned Sparrow 9	White-crowned Sparrow 10	White-crowned Sparrow 11	White-crowned Sparrow 12
October 8th, 2008	October 8th, 2008	December 18th, 2008	December 18th, 2008
Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Coast near San Francisco, California	Coast near San Francisco, California
Juvenile bird hanging out in a dense bush	Young bird posing in a dense bush	Juvenile bird scratching in the ground for grub	Adult sparrow foraging on the ground

White-crowned Sparrow 13	White-crowned Sparrow 14	White-crowned Sparrow 15	White-crowned Sparrow 16
December 10th, 2010	December 9th, 2010	December 9th, 2010	December 9th, 2011
Near Saguaro National Park, Arizona	Near Chandler, Arizona	Near Chandler, Arizona	Coast near San Francisco, California
Sparrow getting a bit of a drink on a wet stone	Adult sparrow foraging in a locust tree	Juvenile bird expressing its displeasure at the cameraman	Sparrow foraging in coastal scrub

White-crowned Sparrow 17	White-crowned Sparrow 18	White-crowned Sparrow 19	White-crowned Sparrow 20
December 9th, 2011	December 9th, 2011	December 9th, 2011	December 9th, 2011
Coast near San Francisco, California	Coast near San Francisco, California	Coast near San Francisco, California	Coast near San Francisco, California
First-year sparrow foraging in coastal scrub	Adult bird posing on a bare branch in the sunshine	Adult bird calling from shrubbery	Immature bird hanging out in coastal shrubbery

White-crowned Sparrow 21	White-crowned Sparrow 22	White-crowned Sparrow 23
December 9th, 2011	December 9th, 2011	October 12th, 2020
Coast near San Francisco, California	Coast near San Francisco, California	Minnehaha County, South Dakota
Profile of an adult bird posting in the sun	Profile of adult bird in great lighting	Adult bird perched on a tree branch