Non-breeding golden crowned sparrow, Langley, BC


Who knew there were so many species of sparrow?  In BC, where I live, there are at least 20 species.  That may not seem like an insurmountable number, but you have to include the fact that there are male, female, breeding, non-breeding, and juvenile forms.  Then there are other sparrow-like birds, which include finches, nuthatches, kinglets, and a host of others all belonging to the Pasceriformes.  Of the 10,000 species of birds known to exist, a third of them belong to this family.  Bird identification is more than just looking at a photo and seeing a duplicate of what's in front of you.

Although I have not yet verified the species, I am modestly certain that the photo I took this morning is of a non-breeding golden-crowned sparrow.  Sparrows have certain distinguished characteristics that include there small size, thick and conical bills, and gregarious natures.  When trying to identify them, I look for cap colour (rusty vs plain), eye streak, breast pattern, and the presence of specialized markings such as what is found in white-crowned sparrows, black-throated sparrows, and song-sparrows.  

I find that birds clad in male breeding plumage are easiest to identify.  Females often have some commonalities with males, and immature or non-breeding forms have even fewer distinguishing characteristics.  The slight yellow crown, lack of an eye stripe, and clear breast lead me to believe the above bird is a golden-crowned sparrow.  If you can correct me or affirm it, please let me know.

I had fun this morning as I was out shooting with my 80-400 mm Nikon lens with a 1.4TCiii teleconverter attached to a Z7ii camera body.  I will talk about that in my next blog.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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