Its white and black-striped crown, pronounced bright yellow in front of the eyes, gray breast, and conspicuously outlined white throat make this bird easy to identify in the field or at your feeder.

They are primarily ground feeders, their diet consisting primarily of spiders, insects, and seeds.

For breeding they tend to seek out the edges, lowlands, and shrubby sections of conifer or mixed conifer-deciduous forests that are often within a riparian setting.

The clear, pleasing, and memorable song of the White-throated Sparrow is as vivid and distinctive as its rather striking coloration.

Michiganians would characterize its song as saying “Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody”. Our neighbors to the east, however, claim to hear the song saying, “Oh Sweet Canada, Canada, Canada”. They have been known to sing at night (both the birds and Canadians)

Though the clear euphonious quality of this bird’s singing is unmistakable, it is complicated a bit by the fact that it sings two variations of its mating-territorial song. One has a rising intonation and the other’s intonation is descending.

If, perchance, in June, you hear either variation, you know you are in the northern half of the lower peninsula.

The Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas indicates very few observations of this species breeding south of a line that extends from Pinconning in the east to Ludington in the west.

During migration they may be found almost anywhere throughout the state. Occasionally a few of this species do spend the winter in Leelanau County and other parts of Northern Michigan.

~bob c.