Song sparrow / gorrión cantor (Melospiza melodia) at Whitewater Draw in Cochise County, Arizona.

Melospiza melodia (Song Sparrow), Zonotrichia atricapilla (Golden-crowned Sparrow) and Setophaga petechia (Yellow Warbler)

Some of the illustration assets I made for the DeZwaan et al. 2022 infographic. Read the open access paper here: https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukac027

BOTD: Song Sparrow

Photo: Doug Greenberg

"Very widespread in North America, this melodious sparrow is among the most familiar birds in some areas, such as the Northeast and Midwest. At times it is rather skulking in behavior, hiding in the thickets, seen only when it flies from bush to bush with a typical pumping motion of its tail. Usually, however, sheer numbers make it conspicuous. Song Sparrows vary in appearance over their wide range, from large dark birds on the Aleutians to small pale ones in the desert Southwest."

- Audubon Field Guide

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

© Dave Spier

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow, live in concert

Song Sparrows

Virginia, March 2024.

Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), March 2023

Western PA

12/22/22

Leucistic song sparrow. Only saw him once.

There is no bad weather, only bad clothing. by Adam Kaningher

Little brown birds, walking on water

Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

November 8, 2023

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Tinicum, Pennsylvania

Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia

Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) doing what it does best, screaming at the top of it fucking lungs.

Sing that Song

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) at Trent University Nature Area

©2021 Ken Oliver

Song Sparrow - (Melospiza melodia)

Rio Grande Nature Center (State Park) - Fall 2023

Song Sparrow are one of the most common "backyard" birds across the United States, and because of this wide range they tend to have many subspecies. In the Southwest, the birds are generally auburn and gray, as this bird is. Growing up in the East, our birds are more of a rich-chocolate brown, nearly black in the streaks. This sort of diversity can sometimes make species ID hard when traveling to a new area.

All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey's BBL. Permission to share these images was given by Rio Grande Bird Research, Inc. (Instagram: @ birdbanderdude_nm)

Sparrows can be tough little brown jobs to ID, but I am taking this for a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)...