White-throated Sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The white-throated sparrow is a bird of the Canadian taiga with a crisp white throat and a striped eyebrow that may be white or tan. That difference is not one of age or sex: they are two genetic morphs that behave differently and that almost always pair with the opposite one, a breeding system with no equivalent in any other bird.

Weight

22 g – 32 g

Size

15 cm – 19 cm

Lifespan

14 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestTundraOmnivore Diurnal In pairs Bird Temperate forest Tundra

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Fun facts

In practice it has four sexes: two genetic morphs, white-striped and tan-striped, that almost always pair with the opposite one, so that there are males and females of each morph and only four of the possible combinations occur in nature.
That difference is encoded in a chromosomal inversion that behaves almost like a second sex chromosome, and each morph behaves differently: the white-striped birds are more aggressive and less attentive parents.
Its song, a pure whistle of descending notes, is popularly transcribed in Canada as a call to the country itself and is one of the most recognisable sounds of the boreal forest.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Boreal forest with dense understorey for breeding; hedgerows and gardens of the eastern US for wintering
Birth weight: Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Size at birth: Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 13 days
Litter / clutch size: 4