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always for the community VOL 25 NO 8
December 2020
www.valleysentinel.com
SPOTLIGHT
100 Years and This Danville Veteran is Still Going Strong William Gross was born December 8, 1920 is San Pedro, California, the youngest of 3 sons of Charles and Anna Gross. Raised in the idyllic setting that Southern California was in the 20s and 30s, he attended Belmont High School in Los Aneles and later the University of Southern California on the GI bill. In 1940, he started working for the Dodge Trophy Company as a shipping clerk. There he met, “The most beautiful girl I ever
ECRWSS
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See 100 YEARS page 9
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What is it that makes Danville such a charming place? The ambiance is special. Strolling downtown, shopping the small boutiques and having a meal, a glass of wine or a beer with a friend, is particularly pleasing because of the comfort and safety of a “small town”. Please, please take the Pledge to Live, Eat and Shop Locally this holiday season. Let’s keep our small businesses, the lifeblood of Danville afloat. For more information see page 5! Happy Holidays!
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) By James M. Hale
With its beautifully phrased song, the White-crowned Sparrow (Zono-trichia leucophrys), along with the Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Yellow-rumped Warbler, make up the classic, trifecta of unmistakable, commonly heard, fall and winter bird sounds in Contra Costa County. With the excep-tion of the West Coast and mountains of the West, the White-crowned Sparrow is a winter visitor across much of the United States. They begin to arrive in our area sometime in September, showing an affinity for ecotonal or transitional zones between two habitats. Roadsides, trailsides, margins of our yards, and low foliage, as well as fields are preferred winter habitats of the White-crowned Sparrow. During spring migration in March or April, White-crowned Sparrows leave for the brushy areas of
the taiga and tundra in the northernmost regions of the continent, the Pacific coast, and Rocky Mountains, that provide breeding habitat for this species. A well-known, natural alertness mechanism allows the White-crowned Sparrow to remain awake and alert for up to two we e k s d u r i n g m i g ra t i o n . This mechanism is being studied for applications in humans. There are currently five, recognized subspecies of the White-crowned Sparrow based on breeding distribution and migratory routes. The scientific name has its origins from Ancient Greek. The genus Zonotrichia is from zone for “band”, and thrix or trikos, for “hair”. The specific epithet leucophrys is from leukos “white”, and ophrus, “eyebrow”. Adult
W h i t e - c row n e d S p a r rows have brilliant, diagnostic, black and white stripes on their peak-shaped heads. Their faces are gray, upper body parts streaked brown, and tails, long. The brown wings are barred, underparts gray, and bill, pink or yellow. The White-crowned Sparrow weighs about one ounce, with a wingspan reaching nine and one half inches, and a length of up to seven inches. White-crowned Sparrows are predominately seedeaters, which they glean by foraging on the ground or in low vegetation. On occasion, they will consume insects and arthropods, which they pursue in flight or on the ground, as well as grasses, grains, fruits, buds, and other plant parts. Often, they will forage in flocks. Some collective nouns
This Month’s Special Section:
for these flocks of sparrows include: a “crew”, “flutter”, “quarrel”, “ubiquity”, and “meinie” of sparrows. Whitecrowned Sparrows nest on the ground, or in low, protective, vegetation. The cup-shaped nest is constructed of twigs and various plant materials. Fine grasses and hairs line the inside of the nest. It takes the female two to nine days to construct the nest. The three to five greenish-blue or gray eggs are splotched brown for camouflage. The female
HolidayGiving pages 5-7
See SPARROW page 4