Song Sparrow
(Melospiza melodia)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | LC - Least Concern |
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| NatureServe | N5 - Secure SNRB, SNRN - Unranked Breeding and Nonbreeding |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Size |
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5½″ to 7″ in length 8½″ wingspan |
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Voice |
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Similar Species |
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Habitat |
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Shrubby areas, riparian thickets, forest openings, pastures |
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Biology |
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Migration |
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Mid-March to late November |
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Nesting |
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Food |
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Distribution |
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Occurrence |
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Common migrant and breeder |
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Maps |
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The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map |
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Taxonomy |
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| Class | Aves (birds) | ||
Order |
Passeriformes (perching birds) | ||
Family |
Passerellidae (New World sparrows) | ||
Genus |
Melospiza (song sparrows) | ||
New World sparrows were traditionally combined with buntings into the family Emberizidae. Recent phylogenetic analysis (Barker et al. 2013) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis (Klicka et al. 2014) found that the Old World buntings should be separated as a sister to New World sparrows. New World sparrows have been separated into a new family, Passerellidae. |
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Subordinate Taxa |
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Eastern group Atlantic Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia atlantica) Eastern Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia melodia) Mountain Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia montana) Northwestern group Aleutian Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia sanaka) Bischoff Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia insignis) Giant Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia maxima) Kenai Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia kenaiensis) Mendocino Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia cleonensis) Merrill’s Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia merrilli) Rusty Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia morphna) Sooty Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia rufina) Yakutat Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia caurina) Cismontane California group Alameda Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia pusillula) Heermann’s Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia heermani) Marin Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia gouldii) Santa Barbara Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia graminea) San Pablo Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia samuelis) Suisun Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia maxillaris) Southwestern group Brown's Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia rivularis)\ Goldman’s Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia goldmani) Southwest Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia fallax) Mexican Plateau group Mexican Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia mexicana) Rio Lerma Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia adusta) Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia villai) |
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Synonyms |
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Fringilla melodia Zonotrichia melodia |
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Visitor Photos |
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Share your photo of this bird. |
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| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption. |
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Mike Poeppe |
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Gerry Garcia |
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Normandale Lake Birdsong Today ...hiking Normandale Lake this morning, we came across this little one belting out a beautiful song for us - and the rest of the free world |
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Margot Avey |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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| Song Sparrow Allen Chartier |
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| Song Sparrow Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren |
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| Song Sparrow JMC Nature Photos |
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Visitor Videos |
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Share your video of this bird. |
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| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. |
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Gerry Garcia |
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| Normandale Lake Birdsong Today Published on Jul 10, 2019 |
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About
...hiking Normandale Lake this morning, we came across this little one belting out a beautiful song for us - and the rest of the free world |
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Other Videos |
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| Song Sparrow The Music of Nature |
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About
Uploaded on Sep 17, 2010 The Music of Nature proudly presents "Song Sparrow," a video portrait featuring several singing Song Sparrows, gathered in the countryside around Ithaca, New York. Song Sparrows are winter residents here and their bright carols are often heard on cold, clear mornings in late winter. Males continue singing well into the summer months. © 2010 Lang Elliott |
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| Song Sparrow Portrait ebirdr |
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About
Published on Jun 12, 2012 The Song Sparrow is common throughout North America; more so in the east than west. It can be found in brushy thickets, gardens, streamsides, marshes, roadsides. It has a white throat and whisker stripes on the face. The breast and side streaking converge into a large central spot. It has pink legs and feet. Its long rounded tail is pumped in flight. The song is a series of notes starting with 2-3 bright "sweet sweet sweets". It may be represented as "pres pres pres Presbyterian". |
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| Song Sparrow Singing Mike Schanbacher |
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About
Published on May 23, 2013 A Song Sparrow singing and calling from the top of a shrub. Woods Hole, MA - May 2013. Taken with a Canon t3i and a 55-250mm lens. |
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| Song Sparrows of Cliff Walk - Newport, Rhode Island Clive Bramham |
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About
Published on Dec 20, 2013 Singing Song Sparrows along beautiful Cliff Walk overlooking the Atlantic coast in Newport, Rhode Island. These scenes are from the first week of June. There's a narrow strip of thick vegetation on one side of the path and the cliff on the other. This prime Breeding habitat is upheld and defended by some of the best singers around. The birds seem habituated to human presence on Cliff Walk, giving a golden opportunity for close-up filming.Birds shown (eastern Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia;Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis; Yellow Warbler, Dendroica petechia; Gray Catbird, Dumetalla carolinensis; American Herring Gull (first summer), Larus argentatus; Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus. Birds of North America playlist. |
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| Birds USA... Singing Song Sparrow groenelantaarn |
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About
Published on Sep 1, 2013 Singing Melospiza melodia Romans acres, Peru, Indiana USA 06-08-2013 |
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