The **song sparrow** (*Melospiza melodia*) is a medium-sized New World sparrow found in North America. Here are some key details about this adaptable species:
– **Description**: Adult song sparrows have brown upperparts with dark streaks on the back and white undersides with dark streaking. They sport a brown cap, a long rounded tail, and a gray face with a brown streak through each eye. Their size varies across numerous subspecies, with body length ranging from 11 to 18 cm (4.3 to 7.1 in) and wingspan from 18 to 25.4 cm (7.1 to 10.0 in). The average weight is around 32 g (1.1 oz), but it can vary significantly among different populations¹².
– **Habitat**: Song sparrows thrive in diverse environments, including brushlands, marshes, salt marshes, suburbs, agricultural fields, and roadsides. They are permanent residents in the southern half of their range, while northern populations migrate to the southern United States or Mexico during winter¹.
– **Foraging**: These birds forage on the ground, in shrubs, or in shallow water. Their diet consists mainly of insects and seeds, with salt marsh populations occasionally consuming small crustaceans¹.
– **Variability**: The song sparrow exhibits considerable variation across its 34 recognized subspecies, ranging from large, dark-colored birds on rocky beaches to smaller, sandy birds in desert areas.- **Nesting**: Song sparrows nest either on the ground or in trees and shrubs. Females lay three to five brown eggs with greenish-white spots, and incubation lasts 13–15 days before hatching¹.