{"id":121898,"date":"2024-02-26T04:48:15","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T11:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=121898"},"modified":"2024-02-26T04:48:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T11:48:15","slug":"winter-white-crowned-sparrow-portrait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/26\/winter-white-crowned-sparrow-portrait\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter White-crowned Sparrow Portrait"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I haven&#8217;t seen as many sparrows this winter as I typically do, so I was tickled to take a few White-crowned Sparrow portraits at Farmington Bay WMA on Friday.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-121895 size-full\" title=\"Winter White-crowned Sparrow adult portrait\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496.jpg\" alt=\"Winter White-crowned Sparrow adult portrait, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Winter White-crowned Sparrow adult portrait \u2013 Nikon D500, f10, 1\/800, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This adult White-crowned Sparrow was very cooperative and allowed me to take several close up portraits of them. The sparrow was perched in a Greasewood with a bright blue winter sky behind the bird.<\/p>\n<p>I usually find two subspecies of White-crowned Sparrows in northern Utah: Interior West and Gambel&#8217;s, which are also known as Western Taiga. This sparrow appears to be from the Gambel&#8217;s subspecies, which is the more abundant subspecies here than the Interior West subspecies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> As I write this morning, I am wondering if the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/americanornithology.org\/about\/english-bird-names-project\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">American Ornithological Society<\/a><\/span> will be changing the names of subspecies that are named after people. I guess I&#8217;ll just have to wait and see. It wouldn&#8217;t bother me a bit to call this subspecies of White-crowned Sparrow Western Taiga instead of Gambel&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>I usually find more White-crowned Sparrows in the valley than I have seen since fall arrived. I&#8217;m not sure why I haven&#8217;t found them in larger numbers this winter. These sparrows nest in the mountains of northern Utah, and a few times I have found their young in the high country during the breeding season.<\/p>\n<p>Before winter is officially over, I hope to have more White-crowned Sparrows in my viewfinder and hope to find American Tree and Lincoln&#8217;s Sparrows too.<\/p>\n<p>I did see and photograph one Lincoln&#8217;s Sparrow on Friday, but that sparrow stayed well hidden in the base of the Greasewood. Even though I waited and hoped the Lincoln&#8217;s would come out into the open, it didn&#8217;t. The noisy diesel truck that pulled up behind me probably didn&#8217;t help because when it arrived, the Lincoln&#8217;s Sparrow flew off.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/white-crowned-sparrow-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my White-crowned Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I haven&#8217;t seen as many sparrows this winter as I typically do, so I was tickled to take a few White-crowned Sparrow portraits at Farmington Bay WMA on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,697,26,356],"tags":[4004,4142,14759,1830,2668,4094,4104,4046,1831,4018,855,4195,14760,4095,4327,373,4256],"class_list":["post-121898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","category-white-crowned-sparrows","tag-adult","tag-close-up","tag-gambels","tag-greasewood","tag-interior-west","tag-marsh","tag-perched","tag-portrait","tag-sarcobatus-vermiculatus","tag-sky","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-western-taiga","tag-wetlands","tag-white-crowned-sparrow","tag-winter","tag-zonotrichia-leucophrys"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9496.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-vI6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":116305,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/27\/interior-west-white-crowned-sparrow-adult\/","url_meta":{"origin":121898,"position":0},"title":"Interior West White-crowned Sparrow Adult","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Interior West White-crowned Sparrow perched in Greasewood, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/white-crowned-sparrow-fall-mia-mcpherson-1941.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/white-crowned-sparrow-fall-mia-mcpherson-1941.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/white-crowned-sparrow-fall-mia-mcpherson-1941.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/white-crowned-sparrow-fall-mia-mcpherson-1941.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62034,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/12\/13\/portrait-of-an-adult-white-crowned-sparrow-eating-greasewood-seeds\/","url_meta":{"origin":121898,"position":1},"title":"Portrait Of An Adult White-crowned Sparrow Eating Greasewood Seeds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"When I look at this White-crowned Sparrow portrait I can count the orbital feathers of the bottom portion of the bird's eye and the rictal bristles near the bill.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult White-crowned Sparrow feeding on Greasewood seeds, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-close-up-mia-mcpherson-4103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-close-up-mia-mcpherson-4103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-close-up-mia-mcpherson-4103.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-close-up-mia-mcpherson-4103.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54854,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/11\/03\/adult-white-crowned-sparrows-feeding-on-greasewood-seeds\/","url_meta":{"origin":121898,"position":2},"title":"Adult White-crowned Sparrows Feeding On Greasewood Seeds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I photographed American Goldfinches, House Finches and White-crowned Sparrows that were busy feeding on greasewood seeds.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult White-crowned Sparrow lifting off from a greasewood, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-5647.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-5647.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-5647.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-5647.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":96961,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/05\/my-first-white-throated-sparrow-sighting-in-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":121898,"position":3},"title":"My First White-throated Sparrow Sighting In Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I found my first White-throated Sparrow in Utah, photographed it, and when I pointed it out to a friend this sparrow became a lifer for them.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult White-throated Sparrow perched on a greasewood, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/white-throated-sparrow-adult-farmington-bay-wma-mia-mcpherson-2496.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/white-throated-sparrow-adult-farmington-bay-wma-mia-mcpherson-2496.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/white-throated-sparrow-adult-farmington-bay-wma-mia-mcpherson-2496.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/white-throated-sparrow-adult-farmington-bay-wma-mia-mcpherson-2496.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60579,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/09\/30\/photographing-white-crowned-sparrows-at-farmington-bay\/","url_meta":{"origin":121898,"position":4},"title":"Photographing White-crowned Sparrows At Farmington Bay","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"When autumn arrives White-crowned Sparrows are one of the sparrow species that I look forward to photographing at Farmington Bay WMA each year as they move down to lower elevations.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult White-crowned Sparrow in early morning light, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-phrags-mia-mcpherson-9289.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-phrags-mia-mcpherson-9289.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-phrags-mia-mcpherson-9289.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-phrags-mia-mcpherson-9289.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35153,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/01\/29\/juvenile-and-adult-white-crowned-sparrows-on-a-tree-branch\/","url_meta":{"origin":121898,"position":5},"title":"Juvenile And Adult White-crowned Sparrows On A Tree Branch","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I was able to photograph juvenile and adult White-crowned Sparrows on the same branch a few minutes apart at a gate at Farmington Bay WMA.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An adult White-crowned Sparrow on a branch of an apple tree, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-9736.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-9736.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-9736.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-9736.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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