[EBB Sightings] A third White-throated Sparrow in the yard??

We've had at least two White-throated Sparrows (one tan, one white) at 
our feeders in the Oakmore neighborhood in Oakland this fall, and had at 
least three individuals at various times last winter.  Douglas's 
theories sound plausible, especially the second, since I frequently saw 
White-throated Sparrows migrating in flocks, sometime large flocks, when 
I lived in Boston.  Another theory is that these birds are common enough 
on the west coast in winter that you would expect some to be clustered 
together just by chance.

Glen Tepke
Oakland



Douglas Vaughan wrote:

> Our small N. Berkeley yard has hosted a wintering White-throated Sparrow 
> (and last year, two) for all but one of the last several years. This 
> year, our first appeared on 27 Oct and a second this past Monday, 19 
> Nov. Yesterday, we had an apparent THIRD. We did not see all three 
> simultaneously, but we did have two white-striped birds together, as 
> well as one of the white-striped birds in company with the tan-striped 
> (maybe first-year) individual that has been present for a month.
> 
> The tan-striped bird is quite dingy, the tan supercilium appearing dusky 
> and obscure immediately behind the yellow supraloral spot, and the white 
> throat is strongly and fully partitioned by dark lateral stripes. I 
> can't see confusing it with either of the other two birds.
> 
> To make all this seem a little less improbable, I wonder if these birds 
> have a kind of specific affinity, attracting others of their kind to a 
> reliable food source. Or maybe just staying together after moving south 
> in small flocks from their breeding grounds. Notwithstanding the fact 
> that they are usually reported as lone individuals around here.
> 
> Doug Vaughan
> Berkeley
> 
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