White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

Hear White-throated Sparrows Learning to Sing

September 22, 2022 The White-throated Sparrow’s melancholy whistle is hauntingly beautiful. But when you hear an adult sparrow performing, just know that the bird wasn’t always an expert singer. In the fall, listen for White-throated Sparrows rehearsing their song. Inexperienced young birds sometimes begin

Welcoming Back Winter Birds

November 29, 2021 Although we may think of autumn as the end of the growing season, a sort of winding down in the natural world, for birds it’s as much a season of renewal as the spring. In the colder months, we welcome back our winter birds — juncos, swans, and more — which spent the summer in their

Refueling on Block Island

September 17, 2021 On Block Island, 11 square miles of land off the coast of Rhode Island, Kim Gaffett catches birds and puts metal bands on their legs to track them. This has helped reveal how the birds use their island layovers. Having crossed the ocean without eating or drinking, birds—like this White

Seeds of Attraction

February 10, 2021 What is it that draws us to a romantic partner? Birds have lots of ways to catch the attention of a mate. Most cranes duet with prospective partners for years before they begin breeding. Crested Auklets of both sexes produce a pungent citrus perfume. And Blue-footed Boobies dance, showing

Late Fall Sounds to Listen For

November 21, 2020 By the time November rolls around, the bird songs of summer can seem a distant memory. But there’s always something to listen for. Small birds like chickadees and kinglets, including the Golden-crowned Kinglet pictured here, often mix in flocks while foraging. Geese can be heard overhead

Bird Songs of April

April 24, 2020 The month of April inspires poets, sometimes with contradictory results. Poet TS Eliot describes April as "the cruelest month." Shakespeare strikes an upbeat note, writing "April hath put a spirit of youth in everything." Let April speak for itself. Listen to the birds. In Southeastern

New Sam Peabody

April 3, 2017 In late winter, White-throated Sparrows erupt into song, easily set to human words: “Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody.” Or “Oh, sweet Canada, Canada, Canada.” But something changed since those classic memory aids were coined. Sixty years later, the bird sings a simpler, shorter song. Bird

Voices and Vocabularies - Three Hidden Sparrows

March 5, 2016 Some birds have a remarkable knack for staying out of sight. Often we don’t know they’re nearby, until they sing. But with a little practice, we can learn to identify birds without seeing them. Listen to the songs of the Song Sparrow, the Chipping Sparrow, and the White-throated Sparrow —

Birdsong, Music, and Neuroscience

May 13, 2015 Brain imaging studies have shown that hearing enjoyable music “lights up” the mesolimbic reward pathway in the human brain. But how does a bird experience a song from its own species? Scientists at Emory University found a similar pattern in the sparrow’s brain. Female White-throated

Interview with Jeff Wells

March 26, 2009 Dr. Jeff Wells, senior scientist with the Boreal Songbird Initiative, has published The Birder's Conservation Handbook. With profiles of 100 North American birds at risk, Dr. Wells also offers suggestions that can help stem the decline of birds - including this White-throated Sparrow -

Early Spring Songs (South Texas)

March 23, 2009 In March, we welcome the lengthening days and the renewal of bird song. Among the earliest spring singers in south Texas are White-throated Sparrow, Cassin's Sparrow, and Purple Martin (left). And spring songs are breaking out all over the country. Listen to the songs of these early spring