White-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys (Forster, JR, 1772)

18 cmLength28 gWeight

The adult has black-and-white crown stripes, a gray face and a long tail.

Busiest months: May and October · Most records: United States, Canada, Mexico

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Adult crown with alternating black-and-white stripes
Face gray
Wings brown with wing patches
Bill pink or yellow

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May and October · Most records: United States, Canada, Mexico

White-crowned Sparrow has been recorded at 782 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 11 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Sweetwater WetlandsUnited States21,608 records
Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water RanchUnited States19,152 records
Paton Center for HummingbirdsUnited States16,817 records

More places

Point Pelee National ParkCanada13,743 records
Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Lincoln Park, ChicagoUnited States13,708 records
Rio Grande Nature Center SPUnited States10,907 records
Canoa Ranch Conservation ParkUnited States9,564 records
IRWD San Joaquin Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary, IrvineUnited States8,658 records
Southeast Farallon IslandUnited States8,311 records
Fort MasonUnited States8,065 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States Canada Mexico St. Pierre & Miquelon Bermuda United Kingdom Bahamas Japan

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

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.

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