Listen to the white-crowned sparrow
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the white-crowned sparrow
The white-crowned sparrow is a bird in the family Passerellidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults weigh around 31 g.
What does the white-crowned sparrow sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as song. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a species of passerine bird native to North America. A medium-sized member of the New World sparrow family, this species is marked by a grey face and black and white streaking on the upper head. It breeds in brushy areas in the taiga and tundra of the northernmost parts of the continent and in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific coast. While southerly populations in the Rocky Mountains and coast are largely resident, the breeding populations of the northerly part of its range are migratory and can be found as wintering or passage visitors through most of North America south to central Mexico.
Related birds in the genus Zonotrichia
More from the family Passerellidae
Dark-eyed junco
Junco hyemalis
American tree sparrow
Spizelloides arborea
Savannah sparrow
Passerculus sandwichensis
Fox sparrow
Passerella iliaca
Chipping sparrow
Spizella passerina
Eastern towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Lincoln's sparrow
Melospiza lincolnii
Tanager finch
Oreothraupis arremonops
Spotted towhee
Pipilo maculatus
Swamp sparrow
Melospiza georgiana
Frequently asked questions
What does a white-crowned sparrow sound like?
You can hear 6 recordings of the white-crowned sparrow on this page, including its song. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the white-crowned sparrow endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the white-crowned sparrow as “least concern”.
What family does the white-crowned sparrow belong to?
The white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) belongs to the family Passerellidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Zonotrichia leucophrys - White-crowned Sparrow by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · "the Fen", near Churchill Northern Studies Centre… by Doug Hynes – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song by Ryan Winkleman – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · San Francisco Peninsula (near San Francisco), San… by radrat – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Griffin Park, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States by Kimberly Arthur – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Palo Alto Baylands, Santa Clara, California, United States by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q686673 – CC0
- Wikipedia: White-crowned sparrow – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Wolfgang Wander – CC BY-SA 3.0