Of the common winter sparrows, two are not often found in urban or residential areas. Rather, they prefer more open habitat and those who want to see them will need to venture into the country.
The American tree sparrow is an attractive bird with a red cap, gray face and unstreaked chest with a central spot. This visitor is best found in wooded meadows or in border zones where woods and grassland meet. Often seen in sizable flocks, tree sparrows feed on the ground with juncos and other sparrows. They breed across northern Canada and winter throughout central latitudes of North America.
The white-crowned sparrow also favors open country and is best found in hedgerows or thickets along fields and pastures. Easily identified by his striped crown (black and white) and unstreaked, gray underparts, this sparrow may turn up at feeders during the spring migration (late March through April) but usually winters in farm country, from the mid Atlantic to the Southwest. White-crowned sparrows breed across northern Canada and southward through the Rocky Mountains.
