White-throated Sparrow

The White-throated Sparrow is quite common in Newfoundland. I photographed this little bird at Long Pond during February. This is one of the sparrows that over-wintered with the Juncos and Song Sparrow.

This little sparrow has a yellow eyebrow in front of the eye. There are times that it looks quite bright. The yellow often fades into a white or beige line above the eye. It gets its name from the distinct white throat patch.  The head has two dark brown crown stripes and an eye line beginning behind the dye.

On its breast it is grayish with some light streaking.  This bird is often found on the ground or on lower branches of a tree. It also frequented the feeder set up at Long Pond.

Once again, this bird looks different depending on the lighting. In this shot where it is hopping around the ground eating the seed, it looks somewhat smaller than in the above images. The white throat is not visible, so identification is reliant on the head and wing markings and color.

In some light conditions, the color does not look as rusty as in others and the yellow marking in front of the eye looks more like light brown. This is one bird that I need to see the front to identify. There are so many similarities such as the beak, legs, and the shape of the bird that confuse me, even though I have seen this bird many times.

This bird will often come close in order to get food from the feeder. During the winter, I often took bird seed in my pocket. It was good for the birds that spent most of their waking hours foraging for enough food to survive, and it gave me an opportunity to get a closer look.