Scientific Name: Zonotrichia albicollis
Nest Type: Cup
Nest Location: Ground or shrub; 0-3'
Clutch Size: 3-6; avg. 4-6
Food: Insects, seeds, fruit
Foraging Guild: Ground and foliage gleaner, hawks
The White-throated Sparrow is a common breeding species across Canada, and
south into the north-central and northeastern United States (Peterson 1980). In Minnesota,
it is a summer resident from the northeast and north-central regions, southward into the
northern portions of the central and east-central regions. Breeding evidence has been
reported from as far south as the Cedar Creek Scientific and Natural Area in Anoka County
(Janssen 1987). This species is a short distance migrant, wintering from southeastern
Wisconsin and southern Michigan south to northeastern Mexico (Ehrlich et al. 1988). It is a
permanent resident in portions of southern Ontario, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire,
and Connecticut (Peterson 1980). The White-throated Sparrow is a common to abundant
migrant throughout Minnesota, and may be encountered in groups ranging from a few
individuals to hundreds.
The spring migration period extends from mid-March into late May with peak
numbers arriving in late April and early May. Fall migration begins in mid-August, but
stragglers are often encountered as late as mid-December. Individuals are often recorded
overwintering at feeding stations, especially in the Twin Cities area and southward
(Janssen 1987).
The White-throated Sparrow is commonly found in recently logged areas, brushy
thickets, edges of conifer and mixed conifer-deciduous forests, and a variety of forested
habitats with shrubby openings. It seldom ventures far from dense cover. Titterington et al.
(1979) recorded the highest densities of White-throated Sparrows (36 pairs/15 ha) in the
second seral stage after clearcutting of spruce-fir forests in Maine (3-5 years after cutting).
This stage was characterized by a dense raspberry stratum, and regenerating hardwoods
<2 m tall. They found a significant positive correlation between White-throated Sparrows
and the raspberry layer. This species was also very common (26 pairs/40 acres) in the
third seral stage after clearcutting when regenerating hardwoods >2 m tall were the
dominant feature, and in the first seral stage after clearcutting (22 pairs/40 acres) when
slash was dominant (Titterington et al. 1979).
Webb et al. (1977) found a significant upward trend in numbers of White-throated
Sparrows with increased intensity of logging in New York. They recorded the highest
densities on 100% clearcuts in the immediate post-logging period. Ten years after logging,
populations of this species on the clearcut plots had returned to the levels on the unlogged
control plot "clearly showing that their tenure in the second-growth environment was of
short duration" (Webb et al. 1977).
Our data show that the White-throated Sparrow uses a wide range of forest types in
northeastern Minnesota. The species is among the most abundant in early-successional
vegetation following logging activities (e.g., Niemi 1977, Back 1979, Niemi and Hanowski
1984, Probst et al. 1992). High densities on the Superior National Forest were also
recorded in pole-sized white cedar (9 pairs/40 acres), and sapling red pine (8 pairs/40
acres) (Hanowski and Niemi 1991a). On the Chippewa National Forest, high densities
were recorded in pole-sized tamarack (8 pairs/40 acres), and saw-sized fir/aspen/paper
birch (7 pairs/40 acres) (Hanowski and Niemi 1991b).
The White-throated Sparrow forages mainly on the ground, scratching in leaf litter or
gleaning from weeds and grasses (DeGraaf et al. 1991). The diet consists primarily of
weed and grass seeds, wild fruits, and insects, spiders, and snails (Ehrlich et al. 1988,
DeGraaf et al. 1991). The nest is usually placed on the ground at the edge of a clearing,
and well-concealed in a brush pile, grass hummock, or mat of dead ferns (Harrison 1975).
Four eggs are commonly laid, and one or two broods are produced during a breeding
season (Ehrlich et al. 1988).
This species may benefit from an increase in second-growth forests resulting from
increased timber harvest. However, it may be susceptible to increased nest predation
associated with habitat fragmentation. Data collected in the USFWS Breeding Bird Survey
showed a significant decline in the number of White-throated Sparrows recorded in the
eastern region and for its entire range. This decline, however, was attributed to abnormally
cold winters during 1976-77 and 1977-78 on the wintering grounds in the southern United
States (Robbins et al. 1986). In Minnesota, the White-throated Sparrow has shown no
trend in its population since 1966 (Janssen 1990).
