The white-throated sparrow, a common migrant to Connecticut in the winter, is one of the first and last in the day to visit our bird feeders. Often, they can be found scratching the ground below feeders, searching for fallen seed.

At dawn, for example, this elegant little songbird is usually joined by other early risers, like cardinals, juncos and mourning doves. It’s a band of birds that I’ve grown to enjoy watching over my first cup of coffee.

Why? They all seem to get along together. None are aggressive, nor do they seem to have any pecking order issues.

Glenn Williams, an experienced birder from Mystic and one of 12 committee members that reviews and maintains reports of rare bird sightings for the Avian Records Committee of Connecticut, says there is a reason why birds like the white-throated sparrow, cardinals, juncos and mourning doves mingle together.

“Each bird in the feeding flock has a different specialty, as part of the group,” Williams said, adding, “Some are good lookouts (for predators like sharp-shinned or cooper’s hawks) and others are good at finding sources of food.”

David Allen Sibley, artist and author of “The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior,” an excellent resource for beginner and expert birders alike, concurs with Williams, noting “Sparrows in winter often forage in flocks and use the combined vigilance of their flock mates to help spot predators.”

Clearly, the adage “There’s safety in numbers” is working here.

White-throated sparrows come in two different color forms: one with a crisp black-and-white striped head, noticeable white throat patch and touch of yellow between the eyes, called “lores.” The other has duller plumage, sporting a black-and-tan-striped head, white throat patch and yellow lores.

Studies have shown that white-throated sparrows with black-and-white striped heads tend to mate only with sparrows that have black-and-tan striped heads, and vice-versa, genetically sustaining the two color forms, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website, “All About Birds.”

Identifying white-throated sparrows and other sparrows can be challenging for any birder, especially when there are some 50 different species of sparrows that regularly occur in North America, and almost all have brown-colored plumage.

“Because sparrows are so similar and behave the same way, I look at habitat,” Williams said, meaning he knows and has taught himself through years of observing birds that certain species frequent very defined locales, such as grasslands, pine forests or seashores.

“For example, I know that I’m not going to see a seaside sparrow at my feeder or a marsh sparrow,” Williams said.

Williams also looks at the size and shape of birds, asking questions like, “Is it plump or thin?” White-throated sparrows are considered a medium-sized sparrow: larger than a song sparrow and smaller than a fox sparrow. They also have a rather plump body, rounded wings, long, narrow tail, and a conical bill, good for husking seeds.

“I find (bird) songs are very helpful, too,” Williams said, adding that white-throated sparrows sing a clear, pleasing song, resembling the words, “Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody.”

“It’s nice to hear that northern song in the spring,” Williams said.

In my research on white-throated sparrows, I learned these attractive song birds are “short to medium” distance migrants. That is, they breed throughout most of Canada in the summer and winter across the eastern half of the United States, unlike many of the beautiful warblers, who summer in the boreal forests of Canada and winter as far south as Central and South America.

Finally, whenever it snows, I go the extra mile and scrape away a small clearing on the ground, near my feeders, and throw a few handfuls of a mixture of millet, milo, cracked corn and black oil sunflower seeds on the ground for them. You can find these products in many retail stores.

This type of bird seed attracts white-throated sparrows and many other ground-dwelling birds. Enjoy.

Bill Hobbs is a resident of Stonington and a life-long birder. For comments, he can be reached at whobbs246@gmail.com.