The White-throated Sparrow is the bird that got me interested in birding. We were camped at McGregor Provincial Park back in the late seventies when I was awakened early morning by the beautiful call of the White-throated Sparrow. The bird was perched on a limb right behind our tent singing its heart out. So, I bought the Peterson Field guide to birds and a pair of Tasco bins from Canadian Tire, which were huge by todays optics, and a small pair of Bausch and Lomb to take on canoe trips. Both of which served me for years.
The White-throated Sparrow comes in two color forms: white-crowned and tan-crowned. 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.
White-striped birds are more aggressive than tan-striped ones, and white-striped females may be able to outcompete their tan-striped sisters for tan-striped males. Cornell All About Birds
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