White-throated Sparrow Fallout

The striking images of the white-throated sparrows.

Today I had hundreds of migrating white-throated sparrows stop in my yard. They were literally dropping out of the sky through the trees to the ground underneath my feeders. The large flock arrived in the morning then reappeared before sunset to feed before heading further north. Events like this make the migration season special and amazing.

The sparrows blend with the ground especially with the flat light on this grey day. There are about 25 white-throated sparrows in this image.

White-throateds are passing through my yard to breed further north in the forested regions of northeastern Minnesota and Canada. The species has two color morphs and an interesting fact about this is explained on the Cornell Lab’s All About Birds site:

The White-throated Sparrow comes in two color forms: white-striped and tan-striped. The two forms are genetically determined, and they persist because individuals almost always mate with a bird of the opposite morph. Males of both color types prefer females with white stripes, but both kinds of females prefer tan-striped males.

Example of the color morphs: tan-striped in front of white-striped

The white-throated song is distinctive and easy to remember:

Other than the sparrow excitement, it was mostly a “fowl” day.