When people see sparrows, they usually dismiss them as common and nondescript ("lacking distinctive or interesting features or characteristics"). It is true sparrows are probably one of the most common of birds, yet the White Crowned Sparrow, like the Golden Crowned Sparrow, have distinctive contrasts in colors and are quite pretty. One's eye immediately goes to the black-and-white stripes on the head and the yellow bill. I find them quite attractive.

Some interesting facts from "All About Birds", http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-crowned_Sparrow/id):

"Regional Differences" - "White-crowned Sparrows that breed along the Pacific Coast tend to have yellow bills and duller white head stripes. Birds that breed from Alaska to Hudson Bay tend to have orange bills and white or gray lores. Birds that breed east of Hudson Bay and in the Rockies tend to have pink bills with black lores that merge with the black head stripes."

"Habitat" - "Look for White-crowned Sparrows in places where safe tangles of brush mix with open or grassy ground for foraging. For much of the United States, White-crowned Sparrows are most likely in winter (although two races live year round in the West, along the coast and in the mountains)."