When I was at Farmington Bay WMA on Monday, I found and photographed a gorgeous Interior West White-crowned Sparrow adult perched on a Greasewood shrub. This subspecies is also known as Mountain White-crowned Sparrow.
Adult White-crowned Sparrow – Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The White-crowned Sparrow subspecies I typically find in northern Utah is the Gambel’s subspecies, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii. I was thrilled to have the Interior West, or Oriantha, Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha, subspecies in my viewfinder for a change.
Interior West White-crowned Sparrow perched in Greasewood – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I didn’t have this handsome sparrow in my viewfinder for very long. It was long enough, though, for the bird to move to a more aesthetically pleasing part of the Greasewood. Or at least, that is my opinion.
The greasewoods can look more than a bit messy at this time of the year. This second spot in the greasewood didn’t display as many bleached-out stems as my first photo shows.
What all of my images of the bird show are keys to how I identified this sparrow’s subspecies.
White-crowned Sparrow adult – Interior West subspecies – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The first key feature I noticed was that this sparrow has dark lores, which is the area in front of the eyes and behind the bill. The Gambel’s subspecies does not have dark lores. Second, the bill is more pink/red than orange/yellow, which would be the case with the Gambel’s subspecies.
White-crowned Sparrow at Bear River MBR – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The photo above, depicting a Gambel’s subspecies White-crowned Sparrow, shows the absence of dark lores and a bill that appears more orange/yellow in color. I’ve previously shared this photo but wanted to share it again for the purpose of comparison.
In conclusion, I find it very rewarding when I notice subtle differences among birds in the field. This ability, or skill, has always been beneficial for me.
Life is good.
Mia
For geographic variation information please check out this post by David Sibley.
Click here to view more of my White-crowned Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.
I don’t remember seeing any pics of a sparrow with such incredible markings. What a beautiful bird! This series of shots captures everything…colors, detail, eye contact and, of course, your compositions are perfect. Thanks Mia.
Gorgeous indeed. Your eyes and your knowledge serve you, and us, very well. Thank you.
Very neat. I did not know there was a subspecies. I have noticed the plumage and bill color variations and thought it was just that, an individual difference in birds of the same species not a total subspecies difference.
My gosh there are so many different types of sparrows. I would never keep them all straight. Thanks for the pictures and information you give us.
Never seen this type of sparrow. Very handsome!—Jeri S.