White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
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Zonotrichia leucophrys, the White-crowned sparrow, is one of our largest sparrow-like winter visitors. Arriving in flocks in November around the time of our first strong cold fronts, this sparrow is encountered sporadically throughout the winter. They prefer "edge" habitat, which the Hartman Prehistoric Garden amply provides. This is one of the dark-lored subspecies, which means it nested last summer in either the high Rocky Mountains or the northeastern Canadian tundra. Our Cretaceous habitat is less than two acres; nevertheless, what happens in habitats thousands of miles away is carried to our ancient garden, which in turn stretches back one hundred million years in the past.
class: Aves / order: Columbiformes / family: Emberizidae / genus: Zonotrichia / species: leucophrys
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