Harris's Sparrow

A Rare Sparrow Spends the Winter

Harris's Sparrow

The Harris's Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) is an unusual sparrow to see in New Brunswick, normally spending its winters in the mid-southern-states and its summers in our far north (northern Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, Nunavut and Yukon).  There has been one wintering happily in the St. George area this year.  

The Harris's Sparrow is our largest sparrow (19 cm/ 7.5 in long).  It is a Zonotrichia sparrow (the genus) so it resembles closely our other Zonotrichia sparrows, White-throated, Yellow-crowned and White-crowned Sparrows.  That means its colouring, its shape and its behaviour are much like its close relatives.  

The Harris's Sparrow has a distinctive pink bill and an extensive white belly.  It shows pale gray or brown cheeks and in breeding plumage has a black crown, face and bib.  In the non-breeding plumage, as shown above, it loses most of the black from its crown, bib and chest.  All plumages show a postocular black spot.  Notice the black streak behind the eye which often shows just as a spot.  Both genders are similar.

Harris's Sparrow

This species breeds in the far north in mixed forest-tundra areas.  It likes low bushes, willows, and open spruce areas.  It lays 3 to 5 white to pale green eggs with brown markings in a nest built on the ground.  It eats seeds, berries, insects, spiders and snails which it catches mainly on the ground.  It readily adapts to bird feeders in winter.  

Harris's Sparrow [Janice Harmon Photo]

The photo above readily shows the pink bill and the remnant of the black face and crown.  Note the brownish cheek and the postocular spot.

Although the Harris's Sparrow is a mid-continent species vagrants (wanderers) do occasionally occur both to the east and to the west.  There have been a handful of sightings of this species in New Brunswick.  There were 5 sightings noted up to 2003 and there have been a few since.  Certainly this is one we could only see every few years at best.  

Harris's Sparrow

The Harris's Sparrow is Canada's only endemic breeding sparrow.  That means it is the only sparrow that breeds solely in Canada.  It was named by Audubon after an American amateur ornithologist, Edward Harris, who accompanied him on his 1843 trip up the Missouri River.  It was first collected and described by Thomas Nuttall in 1834.  

Although we don't get to see the social interactions of this species, they are quite interesting.  In breeding plumage the males have large black bibs and the male with the largest bib is usually the most dominant.  'Jump fights' are common among males to establish dominance of both females and breeding territory.  The males face off and jump up in the air and claw at one another while beating each other with their wings.  We would have to go to northern Canada in spring to see this!