Zonotrichia Atricapilla, Golden-Crowned Sparrow

Day 196: Golden-Crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) prefers to dine on the ground. At my house, that means joining their White-Crowned cousins as part of the clean-up crew, gathering seed the other birds have dropped at the foot of the feeder trays. There's still plenty they miss, as evidenced by the number of sunflower sprouts currently coming up, but they do a good job on the smaller seeds. They also forage for bugs in the bark beds and in the grass, good little "gardener's helpers." Although the White-Crowned Sparrows always come to visit in the spring and summer, Golden-Crowned's tenancy is inconsistent and occasionally misses a year. This year, however, I have a greater number than usual, almost equal to the population of White-Crowned.