Species: Melospiza melodia

Song Sparrow

Species

Show on Lists

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Size and plumage darkness are geographically variable (large and dark in Alaska, small and pale in deserts); long rounded tail, pumped in flight; grayish eyebrow and broad dark stripe bordering whitish throat; upperparts usually streaked; underparts whitish with streaked sides and breast and usually a central dark spot on the breast (young have finer streaks and may lack the spot); pinkish legs and feet; 13-16 cm (NGS 1983, Peterson 1990).

Articles:

Shoreline armoring's effect on the food web

The removal of shoreline armoring in Puget Sound has become a priority for state and federal agencies, but until recently there have been relatively few scientific studies of armoring's local impact. New research looks at the pronounced biological and ecological effects of these common shoreline structures, especially for tiny beach-dwelling creatures that make up the base of the food web.

Storm surges against the bulkheads protecting beach houses at Mutiny Bay, WA. Photo: Scott Smithson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/dtwpuck/15725058917

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Emberizidae

Genus

Melospiza

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104278

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Gorrión Cantor - bruant chanteur

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Emberizidae - Melospiza - Exhibits a well-structured continental pattern of morphological variation, but mtDNA variation is not geographically structured and subspecies are not identifiable by mtDNA analysis (Zink and Dittman 1993, Ball and Avise 1992). MtDNA data indicate that there may be barriers to gene flow between island and mainland populations in Alaska that are more severe than barriers of some populations in the contiguous U.S., but not effective enough, or ancient enough, to have produced deep branches in the intraspecific mtDNA phylogeny; genetic distance is small, even among subspecies with very divergent phenotypes; phenotypic differences used to define subspecies may have evolved fairly rapidly or they may be environmentally induced (Hare and Shields 1992).

Ecology and Life History

Short General Description

A small bird (sparrow).

Migration

true - true - true - Begins northward migration from southern wintering areas in late February, arrives in northernmost breeding areas March-May (Terres 1980).

Non-migrant

true

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Eats mostly insects and seeds, some small fruits; forages in trees, grasses, bushes, and on open ground (Terres 1980).

Reproduction Comments

Clutch size 3-6. Two, sometimes 3, broods per year. Incubation usually 12-13 days, by female. Young tended by both parents, leave nest at about 10 days, can fly well at 17 days, independent in 18-20 days more. Sexually mature in 1 year.

Ecology Comments

Breeding territory usually is less than 0.4 ha (Terres 1980). <br><br>On Mandarte Island, southwestern British Columbia, population fluctuations were caused by the effects of severe weather and nest parasitism by cowbirds on juvenile recruitment (Arcese et al., 1992, Ecology 73:805-822); further study indicated that colonization of the island by cowbirds apparently had little effect on the average number of song sparrows breeding there (Smith and Arcese, 1994, Condor 96:916-934).

Length

Weight

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-12-04

Global Status Last Changed

1996-12-04

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDING: southern Alaska and southern Mackenzie to northern Saskatchewan and Newfoundland, south to southern Baja California, southern Mexico, northern New Mexico, northern Arkansas, northeastern Alabama, and South Carolina. NON-BREEDING: southern Alaska, coastal and southern British Columbia, northern U.S., and southeastern Canada south through the breeding range and the southeastern U.S.

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104278