During the summer breeding season, the White-throated Sparrow is found across much of Canada and northern Minnesota, but they are a familiar winter bird here in the Twin Cities area and across most of the lower 48 states, even as far south as northern Mexico.

The White-throated Sparrow can be heard singing through the winter months and can even be heard singing at night! Many recognize the White-throated Sparrow by their wonderful “Pure sweet Canada Canada Canada” song.

What do they eat?

In the summer months the White-throated Sparrows eat a large number of insects (dragonflies, stinkbugs, beetles, flies, among others), but in the winter they’ll readily visit backyards and bird feeders to enjoy millet and black oil sunflower seeds, preferring to stay on the ground.

They’re often seen foraging through leaves using both feet at once to scratch backwards then pouncing forward to pick up any food they’ve uncovered. This method of foraging is called “double-scratching.”

Staff Thoughts

Julie: “I have a pretty dedicated little group of cheeky White-throated Sparrows that like to congregate under my lilac bush near my feeders. They seem to enjoy the millet and sunflower seeds and then dart back into a thick pile of cut bee balm and sedum.”

Michael: “I was happy to have a handful of White-throated Sparrows visit our yard in mid-October, assuming we ‘d get to enjoy them all winter… but we haven’t had one back since! I would love to see your WTS photos next time you’re in-store so I can get a taste of these great backyard visitors.”

Michelle: “I will always remember hearing White-throated Sparrows singing when hiking up Ely’s Peak near Duluth.”

Ginger: “White-Throated Sparrows…I heard them long before I ever saw them. They sing my favorite song of all the songbirds, a song that is cemented in my brain from some of my earliest memories. It’s the song I woke up to as a child visiting my grandparents’ home in the woods of Ely, Minnesota. A song that is nostalgic and lovely and always makes me smile.”