White-throated Sparrow    Zonotrichia albicollis

Conservation Status

General Status in Canada : Secure

COSEWIC Status : Not assessed

Given the apparent ubiquitous nature of the White-throated Sparrow with respect to habitat selection during the breeding season, the species has often been referred to as an early-successional, generalist or edge species. In recent decades, however, long-term monitoring of populations on the breeding grounds indicates that this species has been undergoing consistent annual declines of 0.7% per year. Declines have been most pronounced in the eastern portion of the breeding range, which may coincide with the longer history of anthropogenic habitat disturbance and permanent land conversion in that region. A small number of recent studies in the western portion of the breeding range suggest that breeding success is optimized in older, intact forest stands, but potential mechanisms for these declines are unknown.

Reference(s)

Falls, J. B., and J. G. Kopachena. 1994. White-throated Sparrow (Zonatrichia albicollis), The Birds of North America, No. 128. A. Poole and F. Gill, eds. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists's Union, Washington, D.C.