Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Omnivore
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
22 g
About This Species
A rich, musical song of clear opening notes followed by a buzzy trill usually reveals a presence before the bird itself does, delivered from an open perch atop a shrub or fence post in brushy edges, wetland margins, and garden borders. Look for a heavily streaked breast with a central dark spot while it scratches through leaf litter and low cover for seeds and insects, most vocal through spring and early summer.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Watching from a few metres away is enough to see normal foraging and singing behaviour without causing a bird to flush.
- As a native North American migratory species, nests and eggs are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so dense shrubs and tangled cover should be given a wide berth during the spring nesting season rather than searched out for a closer look.
LCAvesPasseriformesPasserellidae
Seasonal Activity
21,524,287 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
Traits
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 22 g
Photo
(c) Connor Cochrane, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Connor Cochrane
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.