Losing long-lasting flockmates may drive a golden-crowned sparrow to stray from its favorite overwintering spot, a new study says, suggesting that friendly, familiar faces help anchor it to familiar spaces. The study found that a golden-crowned sparrow returning to California after a winter migration — one that can stretch as many as 3,000 miles — resettled an average of just 90 feet away from the center of its previous year’s range. But golden-crowned sparrows appearing for at least their third consecutive winter began to drift from their preferred locales when their closest flockmates failed to rejoin them down south — hinting that, even for sparrows, home is where the heart is.
