Susan Collicott wrote:

>I've been spotting white crowned sparrows around town where I'd never
>thought to see them before.

They're not everywhere, but they seem quite tolerant of urban conditions
where their habitat needs are met. They seem to need a fair amount of
dense shrubbery bordered by open grassy or weedy areas, and where those are
provided in the city, there they are. It's a survival mechanism for any
species to be able to adapt to urbanization, and it appears that some of
them (or at least some populations) do, while many don't.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 206-756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 206-756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416