Golden-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia Atricapilla

Day 198: Another bird who prefers to forage on the ground is Golden-Crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla). They mix quite congenially with the more numerous White-Crowned Sparrows, and sometimes the yellow cap is so faint that I have to look twice before noting the absence of an eye stripe. Golden-Crowned's head marking is a single line; that of White-Crowned is two bands, one on the top of the head and the other through the eye, intersecting at 90 degrees on the back of the head.

For many people (particularly city-dwellers), the only association they have with sparrows is with English Sparrow, and you may hear the remark, "The sparrows drive all the other birds away." Just like many other introduced species, English Sparrows tend to dominate the areas where they occur. However, that's not true with the native species like Golden-Crowned and White-Crowned. They mingle with juncos, finches and siskins without engaging in territorial disputes, although the occasional argument arises over which bird saw a particular seed or bug first.