white-throated sparrows
Zonotrichia albicollis is a quiet songbird, a skulker that breeds in New England and sings a plaintive whistling "Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody" song. It's population shows a stable chromosomal polymorphism that causes some individuals (like this one) to have black and white eyebrow stripes, while others bear brown-and-tan stripes. Generally, a bird choose a mate of the opposite striping pattern, and this produces broods in which about 50% are black-and-white and 50% are brown-and-tan. It's a cousin of the familiar white-crowned sparrow of the Pacific Coast.
Airport Road: Dillant-Hopkins Airiport, Keene/Swanzey, NH
(24 April, 2024)
white-throated sparrows
Zonotrichia albicollis is a quiet songbird, a skulker that breeds in New England and sings a plaintive whistling "Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody" song. It's population shows a stable chromosomal polymorphism that causes some individuals (like this one) to have black and white eyebrow stripes, while others bear brown-and-tan stripes. Generally, a bird choose a mate of the opposite striping pattern, and this produces broods in which about 50% are black-and-white and 50% are brown-and-tan. It's a cousin of the familiar white-crowned sparrow of the Pacific Coast.
Airport Road: Dillant-Hopkins Airiport, Keene/Swanzey, NH
(24 April, 2024)