- Zonotrichia atricapilla
Identification
Photo © by digishooter
Wofford Heights, Kern County, California, USA, 28 November 2009
6-7" (15-18 cm)
Male's gold crown bordered by wide black cap. Dusky bill. Brown above, with unstreaked gray breast, cheek, and collar; 2 white wing bars. Fall immatures have 2 dark brown crown stripes with dusky yellowish central area and a trace of "moustache" stripe.
Similar Species
Similar to White-crowned Sparrow.
Distribution
Breeds from western Alaska south through Yukon Territory to northwestern Washington. Winters from Kodiak Island and coastal Alaska south to Baja California. Accidental vagrant to Japan.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Alpine meadows and coniferous forest clearings; winters in coastal brushland and chaparral.
Behaviour
Breeding
Nesting: 4 or 5 bluish, speckled eggs in a neat cup nest well hidden in a dense weed clump or bush.
Diet
There is little information, but they are known to eat seeds, fruit and insects.
Vocalisation
Song: consists of 3 descending plaintive notes sounding like "oh, dear me".
Calls: are tseet and chink.
Movements
Migrates primarily along coastal slope and river valleys. During their first winter, individuals fix on a wintering area and return to it in subsequent years.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- BirdForum Member observations
- Rising, J. (2020). Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/61914 on 4 May 2020).
- Norment, C. J., P. Hendricks, and R. Santonocito (2020). Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gocspa.01
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2019. All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. https://www.allaboutbirds.org Accessed on 4 May 2020
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Golden-crowned Sparrow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Golden-crowned_Sparrow
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
