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Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
Identify the Song Sparrow by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.
The Song Sparrow is a familiar, medium-sized sparrow of North America, famous for its rich, varied song and adaptability. Heavily streaked, with a central breast spot and a long, rounded tail, it varies greatly in size and colour across many subspecies. It lives in marshes, brushy fields, suburbs and farmland; northern birds migrate south in winter, while many southern populations are resident. It is a very rare vagrant to Europe.
Did you know?
- A common Song Sparrow tune echoes the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
- Males can manage a repertoire of songs lasting about half an hour.
Voice
About the species
Identification
A medium-sized sparrow, streaked brown and grey above, with heavy dark streaks on the white underparts converging in a central breast spot. The head has a grey supercilium and a dark moustache stripe. The long, rounded tail is often pumped in flight.
Family
Passerellidae
Size
Small (sparrow)
Colours
brown, white, grey, black
About the habitat
Brushy areas, thickets and marshes, including salt marshes, as well as gardens, farm fields and roadsides.
Diet
Mainly insects and seeds; birds in salt marshes also take small crustaceans. It forages on the ground, in low shrubs and in very shallow water.
Behaviour
Males sing complex, crisp songs to proclaim territory, often repeating one song several times before switching. Young birds learn most of their repertoire from neighbours and later recognise neighbours by song. It nests on or near the ground in dense cover.
Sources
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Song sparrow in Prospect Park (93031).jpg
Sound: Doug Hynes, XC570789, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/570789
Sound: Jonathon Jongsma, XC80524, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://xeno-canto.org/80524
Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_sparrow
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