Dear All

Whilst wandering in to the National Zoo in the early evening last night (on my 
way to a meeting in the Panda Exhibit hall) I was pleasantly surprised to 
stumble across an obliging 1st winter White-crowned Sparrow.  It was feeding 
on the ground both outside and within the Sloth Bear exhibit, which is the first 
enclosure on the right as you enter the Zoo from the Connecticut Ave 
entrance.  Whilst I did not have binocs with me it was easy to watch as it 
obligingly fed on the ground at short range.

I was surprised to find this bird partly because I know they are quite 
uncommon, and I think it is quite a late date for this species, but also because 
I have put in quite a lot of effort trying to find them at known localities and 
have always failed miserably. So it was a very nice surprise.

Cheers

Gary