This past Tuesday I heard a lot of rustling in the underbrush as I walked about in Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Sometimes the noise was caused by squirrels, but often it was the result of energetic White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) foraging for food amidst the fallen leaves.
White-throated Sparrows overwinter in my area of Northern Virginia and seem to have arrived recently. I love the distinctive markings of these little birds, with their white “beards” and bright yellow lores, i.e. the region between the eye and the bill.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Amazing camouflage!
Thanks, Robert. If the bird had not been moving, I doubt that I would have been able to spot it.
Sweet capture, Mike.
Thanks, Mitzy.