Meet the song sparrow

Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia

By Rebecca Thompson, Education Manager

Song sparrows are one of the most common sparrows found throughout North America. They are observed in various open habitats, including shrubby fields, streamsides, brushy edges, hedgerows, and lush shrubby gardens. Males are often seen around eye level, perched on exposed branches singing at the top of their lungs.

Song sparrows feed on the ground, eating seeds, invertebrates, and some fruit. They rarely forage in flocks and prefer to find food alone. They feed heavily on various grass seeds during the fall and winter. In the spring and summer, they eat insects and other invertebrates, including ants, beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, spiders and wasps. Song sparrows visit platform feeders with the seeds such as white millet, sunflower, cracked corn, peanut hearts and nyjer.

Song sparrows are primarily monogamous. During the mating season, courting birds fly together, fluttering their wings, cocking their tails up and dangling their legs to establish pairs. Once pairs are selected, both males and females search for the nest site together.

Nests are usually near swampy water in grasses and shrubs. Early in the season, nests are generally on the ground, while later nests can be as high as 15 feet in a shrub or tree. Females build the nest in four to 10 mornings with loose grasses, bark, rootlets and animal hairs. Nests are four to eight inches in diameter and two to four inches deep.

Females often lay two or more clutches of three to five pale blue or greenish-blue, purple-brown speckled eggs per breeding season. They incubate the eggs for 12 to 14 days. Both parents tend to the young. Males may feed young while females are building another nest nearby. Young leave the nest 10 days after hatching, can fly at seventeen days, and are independent in 18 to 20 days.

SIZE: 5–7 inches

WINGSPAN: 7–9 inches

DESCRIPTION: Brown and black streaks; white chest with brown streaks and central breast spot; warm red-brown and slaty gray head. RANGE: Throughout most of North America; breeds in Canada and northern states; year-round resident of Ohio.

VOICE CALL: Sharp chip note SONG: Loud, sharp song that finishes with a buzz or a trill

BEST LOCATION TO VIEW: Arboretum: Corning Lake Garden: Shade Garden or Woodland Garden

Song sparrows are widespread across most of North America. According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, populations have declined by about 27% between 1966 and 2019. Wetland degradation and destruction are the biggest threat to song sparrows. According to the United Nations topic on climate change, wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests. Wetland destruction would harm not only song sparrows but also 40% of the world’s species. Protecting wetlands is vital to safeguarding the health of our planet.

MEET THE STAFF

Rebecca Thompson is the Education Manager at Holden Forests & Gardens and has dedicated her career (1999 – present) to school-aged children and life-long learners.Her enthusiasm for the natural world has kindled a sense of exploration, discovery and a deeper appreciation for the environment. Her passion for bird watching drove her to become a self-taught local bird expert. She has served as President on local boards, including Blackbrook Audubon Society and Cleveland Regional Council of Science Teachers.