When spring arrives I notice these White-crowned Sparrows everywhere (which is funny because three years ago I didn’t even know they existed). My first capture of them this year was in April while walking around the Rose Gardens at Stanley Park. But I see them quite regularly in the trees just outside of my office and also notice them the trees and bushes of my neighbouring mall parking lot. [click on any picture for larger image]
On allaboutbirds.org I learned that the male White-crowned Sparrow doesn’t learn it’s calls directly from it’s dad, but picks it up from the neighbourhood. And because this sparrow will breed close to where it was raised it creates regional dialects. Some birds if they live on the cusp of two dialects can be bi-lingual, able to speak both dialects.
OTHERS POSTS FEATURING THE WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW:
BCSONGBIRD 