During my seasons of bird banding, I have banded many of these sparrows and we know that they head northeast from their winter homes in the South. These little birds breed on forest edges, in partly open areas, clearings with scrubs, shrubby growth on bog edges and open woodland on mountain slopes. They nest on the ground at the edges of clearings, usually by or under low shrubs, tree branches, grass-tufts, weed clumps and ferns. There are usually four to six eggs, which are smooth, slightly glossy. They are very pale blue or greenish blue, speckled, spotted or blotched in purplish-red and paler lilac.
Markings vary, sometimes fine and profuse, sometimes concentrated about the larger end.
The young are tended by both parents, usually brooded by the female. They leave the nest in about seven to 12 days and can fly two to three days later. The white-throated sparrow has a white throat and a white or tan eyebrow with a yellow mark at the front near the bill. It also has a dark crown with a white or buff central stripe. Its breast is gray with a few faint streaks.