Zonotrichia leucophrys
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a species of passerine bird native to North America. A medium-sized member of the New World sparrow family, this species is marked by a grey face and black and white streaking on the upper head. It breeds in brushy areas in the taiga and tundra of the northernmost parts of the continent and in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific coast. While southerly populations in the Rocky Mountains and coast are largely resident, the breeding populations of the northerly part of its range are migratory and can be found as wintering or passage visitors through most of North America south to central Mexico.
The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name Zonotrichia is from Ancient Greek ζώνη (zone, transl. band) and θρίξ (thrix, transl. hair). The species name leucophrys is from λευκός (leukos, transl. white) and ὀφρῡ́ς (ophrus, transl. eyebrow).
Adults have black and white stripes on their head, a gray face, brown streaked upper parts and a long tail. The wings are brown with bars and the underparts are gray. Their bill is pink or yellow. They are similar in appearance to the white-throated sparrow, but... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-crowned Sparrow sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 42,315 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 21st most-seen of the 426 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November and December
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a White-crowned Sparrow in Los Angeles on a given day, against under 5% in May to August, the lowest months. Those are among Los Angeles's wettest months, with about 45 mm of rain a month against almost none in June.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-crowned Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 34
Of the 34 cities where we can rate White-crowned Sparrow sightings, Los Angeles ranks 5th at about 40%. The best odds are in San Francisco (United States, about 50%), Mesa (United States, about 50%) and Sacramento (United States, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-crowned Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Angeles (42,315 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
