How to Identify aHarris's Sparrow
Zonotrichia querula · 6.7–7.9 in (17–20 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Extensive black on the crown, face and throat forming a hood and bib, gray cheeks, streaked brown back and a bright pink bill. Sexes look alike.
Female
Identical to the male, with less solid black in winter.
Male photo: Alan D. Wilson / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Second photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0
Field marks
- Black crown and bib against white underparts
- Bright pink conical bill
- Large — the biggest North American sparrow
- Gray face panel between the black areas
Similar species
What it sounds like
A series of clear, quavering whistles all on the same pitch, sounding slightly mournful.
Behaviour that gives it away
The amount of black on the throat signals status within a flock, and birds with bigger bibs dominate at feeders.
Habitat & range
Hedgerows, shelterbelts and brushy fields of the central plains in winter.
When you'll see it
A winter visitor in central North America.
What it eats
Seeds, berries and insects taken from the ground.
Did you know?
It is the only songbird that breeds exclusively in Canada, and its nest was not discovered until 1931.
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