Hello, Birders. So...for the past few days, I've been engaged w/Steve Mlodinow and Tony Leukering in on-again/off-again conversations about "black-lored" White-crowned Sparrows.
And then, this afternoon, Monday, Feb. 20th, what should show up in the "sparrow swale" at Greenlee Preserve, Boulder County, but--wait for it--a black-lored White-crowned Sparrow. There have been a very small number (n=0 or n=1 most of the time, max. of n=4) of White-crowned Sparrows in that thicket these past two months, and, having nothing better to do, I've assiduously noted that they've all been "normal," expected Gambel's (white-lored) White-crowned Sparrows. And then this dandy, black-lored, pink-billed bird showed up today. Well? What was it? For starters, black-lored White-crowned Sparrows are rare, at best, in Boulder in the winter. Let's say casual or accidental, or, for all I know, unrecorded. So it's not necessarily one of our summer, dark-lored "Mountain" (oriantha) White-crowned Sparrows. I think it could instead be an eastern, nominate (leucophrys) White-crowned Sparrow. I also think it's probably impossible to say. Here's something else to ponder. That "sparrow swale" is an eerie hotbed for eastern (well, Midwestern) sparrows that show up outta nowhere, mid-winter. In two recent winters, a Swamp Sparrow has popped in after 1 Jan. In two recent recent winters, White-throated Sparrows have appeared there mid-winter. And a Harris's Sparrow showed up there one recent winter. The area is tiny, just a fraction of an acre, and a small fraction at that. I check it almost daily, so I don't think I'm missing stuff that arrives Oct.-Dec. No, for whatever reason, Midwestern sparrows have a way of finding this place Jan.-Mar. Where am I going w/all of this? Well, continuing in a speculative vein, eastern/Midwestern (i.e., leucophrys) origin for this newly arrived White-crowned Sparrow would be consistent with recent winters' Swamp, White-throated, and Harris's sparrows in the "sparrow swale." Whatever it is, it's a rare bird. It's "just" a White-crowned Sparrow, I suppose, and we can't even say what subspecies it is. But it's a rarity, all the same. Ted Floyd [email protected] Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
