Birding 123 Bird Guide Gear Guide Attracting Birds Conservation Studying Birds

Bird Guide

Species Accounts

Video Gallery

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia atricapilla Order PASSERIFORMES - Family EMBERIZIDAE
Summary Detailed
For complete Life History Information on this species, visit Birds of North America Online.

Golden-crowned Sparrow, adult, breeding plumage
enlarge
Golden-crowned Sparrow, adult, breeding plumage, Nome. AK
About the photographs
Golden-crowned Sparrow enlarge
About the map
MultimedialistenPlay sound from this species

Golden-crowned Sparrow,1st winter plumage
enlarge
Golden-crowned Sparrow,1st winter plumage
Menu
  1. Cool Facts
  2. Description
  3. Sound
  4. Range
  5. Conservation Status
  6. Other Names

A large sparrow common in winter along the Pacific Coast, the Golden-crowned Sparrow is not as well known on its breeding grounds in northwestern Canada and Alaska.

Cool Facts

  • The Golden-crowned Sparrow arrives earlier and stays longer on its California wintering grounds than most any other bird species.

Description

top
  • Size: 15-18 cm (6-7 in)
  • Weight: 30-33 g (1.06-1.16 ounces)

  • Large sparrow, small songbird.
  • Yellow crown, bordered by black.
  • Gray face and chest.
  • White wingbars.
  • Back brown with black stripes.
  • Long tail.

  • Rump grayish brown.
  • Wings chestnut brown with two thin white wingbars.
  • Bill dark brown, with paler lower mandible.
  • Eyes brown.
  • Legs and feet pinkish brown.

Breeding (Alternate) Plumage: Black crown and forehead. Center of crown yellow.
Winter (Basic) Plumage: Black of crown largely replaced with brown. Central crown stripe duller yellow.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Juvenile duller than adult, with head pattern obscured, the crown finely streaked, and chest streaked. Immature like adult, but mostly lacking crown stripes.

Sound

Song three clear whistled notes.

»listen to songs of this species
top

Range

Range Map
Golden-crowned Sparrow

© 2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology
About the map

Summer Range

Breeds from Alaska and the Yukon, southward to southern British Columbia.

Winter Range

Winters from British Columbia southward along Pacific Coast to Baja California and up Colorado River.

top

Conservation Status

Numbers increasing.

Other Names

Bruant à couronne dorée (French)
Garrión corona dorada (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

top

Norment, C. J., P. Hendricks, and R. Santonocito. 1998. Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla). In The Birds of North America, No. 352 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

 
Summary species account »
 
Home | Contact Us    ©2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology