White-Throated Sparrow
Zonotrichia albicollis
The White-Throated Sparrow is a bird of the forest, and breeds across most of Canada, but they’re familiar winter birds in most of the eastern and southern USA, and even coastal Washington, Oregon and California.
There are two varieties of this species, split by plumage polymorphism (white-striped and tan-striped morphs), but not considered a subspecies. In fact, researchers claim that the two varieties often seek their opposite version for mating.
White-Throated Sparrows crossbreed with other birds in the sparrow clan. They’ve shared their genes with Golden-Crowned Sparrows, White-Crowned Sparrows, Dark-Eyed Juncos, and Song Sparrows. Observers have even reported this broad-minded species fostering Dark-Eyed Junco chicks who did not appear to be hybrids.
Modern science believes the White-Throated Sparrow is a monotypic species (i.e. no subspecies).
I first met these birds in Alberta (Canada), and later in British Columbia, while driving to Alaska in 2005. My only “stateside” meeting (so far) came in Albuquerque (New Mexico), in 2016. In 2022, I returned to Canada and delighted in their company once again.
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28 Photos
White-throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: (Zonotrichia albicollis) My first encounter with this species was at Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada 2005-06-07. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:07 9:46 |
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Location:
Slave Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/90 |
File Name: JCD3800WhiteThroatedSparrow |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: (Zonotrichia albicollis) My first encounter with this species was at Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada 2005-06-07. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:07 9:50 |
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Location:
Slave Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 |
File Name: JCD3814WhiteThroatedSparrow |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: (Zonotrichia albicollis) In full song at Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada 2005-06-07. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:07 9:57 |
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Location:
Slave Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 390 mm, f/8.5, 1/250 |
File Name: JCD3822WhiteThroatedSparrow |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: Charlie Lake Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:09 13:01 |
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Location:
Charlie Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 490 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 |
File Name: JCD3928WhiteThroatedSparrow |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: Charlie Lake Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:09 13:02 |
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Location:
Charlie Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 490 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 |
File Name: JCD3931WhiteThroatedSparrow |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: (Zonotrichia albicollis) A cut-out image of my first encounter with this species was at Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada 2005-06-07. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:07 9:50 |
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Location:
Wagner |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 |
File Name: Cut_JCD3814WhiteThroatedSparrow |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:20 10:39 |
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Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/200 |
File Name: D3X7024-WhiteThroatedSparrow |
| © 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:20 10:35 |
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Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/320 |
File Name: D3X7015-WhiteThroatedSparrow |
| © 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:20 10:35 |
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Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/500 |
File Name: D3X7009-WhiteThroatedSparrow |
| © 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: I met White-Throated Sparrows at Taylor Landing. It was good practice to compare their songs with the similar sounding Black-Capped Chickadees. I fell in love with the Boreal Forest that lined the Peace River next to the Alaska Highway during my north-bound journey a month earlier. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:28 9:15 |
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Location:
Taylor Landing |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8505526-TaylorLanding.BC_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: I met White-Throated Sparrows at Taylor Landing. It was good practice to compare their songs with the similar sounding Black-Capped Chickadees. I fell in love with the Boreal Forest that lined the Peace River next to the Alaska Highway during my north-bound journey a month earlier. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:28 9:15 |
|
Location:
Taylor Landing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8505517-TaylorLanding.BC_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: I met White-Throated Sparrows at Taylor Landing. It was good practice to compare their songs with the similar sounding Black-Capped Chickadees. I fell in love with the Boreal Forest that lined the Peace River next to the Alaska Highway during my north-bound journey a month earlier. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:28 9:15 |
|
Location:
Taylor Landing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8505506-TaylorLanding.BC_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: It was at Charlie Lake, seventeen years earlier, that I first met White-Throated Sparrows. I fell in love again with the Boreal Forest in Beatton Provincial Park during my north-bound journey a month earlier. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:27 14:53 |
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Location:
Charlie Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/250 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8505310-CharlieLake.BC_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: I used my second day of clear weather to explore Lake Lebarge, north of Whitehorse. I visited the lake near a boat-launch and found many of the ‘usual suspects’ like White-Throated Sparrows. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:16 11:03 |
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Location:
Lake Laberge |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6400 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8500511LakeLebarge.YK_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: I used my second day of clear weather to explore Lake Lebarge, north of Whitehorse. I visited the lake near a boat-launch and found many of the ‘usual suspects’ like White-Throated Sparrows. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:16 11:03 |
|
Location:
Lake Laberge |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8500493LakeLebarge.YK_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: I used my second day of clear weather to explore Lake Lebarge, north of Whitehorse. I visited the lake near a boat-launch and found many of the ‘usual suspects’ like White-Throated Sparrows. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:16 11:01 |
|
Location:
Lake Laberge |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8500456LakeLebarge.YK_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: I paid a morning visit to the Boreal Center for Bird Conservation and met a community of birds that eluded me the previous afternoon. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:30 9:20 |
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Location:
Boreal Centre For Bird Conservat |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8504668-BorealBirdCentre.LesserSlaveLake |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: The plaintiff songs of White-Throated Sparrows give their presence away long before you see them. On my drive from Dawson Creek (British Columbia) to Fort Saint John, I stopped at a wooded grove next to the Peace River, called Taylor Landing Provincial Park. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:02 9:47 |
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Location:
Taylor Landing |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8505724-TaylorCrossing.PeaceRiver |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: The plaintiff songs of White-Throated Sparrows give their presence away long before you see them. On my drive from Dawson Creek (British Columbia) to Fort Saint John, I stopped at a wooded grove next to the Peace River, called Taylor Landing Provincial Park. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:02 9:53 |
|
Location:
Taylor Landing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8505773-TaylorCrossing.PeaceRiver |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: The plaintiff songs of White-Throated Sparrows give their presence away long before you see them. On my drive from Dawson Creek (British Columbia) to Fort Saint John, I stopped at a wooded grove next to the Peace River, called Taylor Landing Provincial Park. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:02 9:54 |
|
Location:
Taylor Landing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8505782-TaylorCrossing.PeaceRiver |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: The plaintiff songs of White-Throated Sparrows give their presence away long before you see them. On my drive from Dawson Creek (British Columbia) to Fort Saint John, I stopped at a wooded grove next to the Peace River, called Taylor Landing Provincial Park. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:02 9:55 |
|
Location:
Taylor Landing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8505799-TaylorCrossing.PeaceRiver |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: The plaintiff songs of White-Throated Sparrows give their presence away long before you see them. On my drive from Dawson Creek (British Columbia) to Fort Saint John, I stopped at a wooded grove next to the Peace River, called Taylor Landing Provincial Park. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:02 9:58 |
|
Location:
Taylor Landing |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8505824-TaylorCrossing.PeaceRiver |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: I used my second day of clear weather to explore Lake Lebarge, north of Whitehorse. I visited the lake near a boat-launch and found many of the ‘usual suspects’ like White-Throated Sparrows. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:16 11:01 |
|
Location:
Lake Laberge |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8500442LakeLebarge.YK_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: I paid a morning visit to the Boreal Center for Bird Conservation and met a community of birds that eluded me the previous afternoon. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:30 8:20 |
|
Location:
Boreal Centre For Bird Conservat |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8504251-BorealBirdCentre.LesserSlaveLake |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: I paid a morning visit to the Boreal Center for Bird Conservation and met a community of birds that eluded me the previous afternoon. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:30 8:19 |
|
Location:
Boreal Centre For Bird Conservat |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8504243-BorealBirdCentre.LesserSlaveLake |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: I paid a morning visit to the Boreal Center for Bird Conservation and met a community of birds that eluded me the previous afternoon. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:30 8:16 |
|
Location:
Boreal Centre For Bird Conservat |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8504225-BorealBirdCentre.LesserSlaveLake |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
|
Description: I paid a morning visit to the Boreal Center for Bird Conservation and met a community of birds that eluded me the previous afternoon. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:30 7:53 |
|
Location:
Boreal Centre For Bird Conservat |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6400 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8504106-BorealBirdCentre.LesserSlaveLake |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
White-Throated Sparrow(Zonotrichia albicollis) |
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Description: This adult White-Throated Sparrow is what some call a 'drab' adult (note the tan stripe over the eye). I paid a morning visit to the Boreal Center for Bird Conservation and met a community of birds that eluded me the previous afternoon. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:30 7:53 |
|
Location:
Boreal Centre For Bird Conservat |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6400 |
File Name: WhiteThroatedSparrow_8504088-BorealBirdCentre.LesserSlaveLake |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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