song sparrowMelospiza melodia
Identification:
This handsome little sparrow has brown streaks on a white front, often converging into a spot. It has a gray head, brown “moustaches,” a brown stripe through the eye, a long tail, and characteristic gray, tan, and black back. Behavior: The song is distinctive; it starts with a hesitant couple of notes, launches into a warble, and ends in a high trill. The song sparrow is a ground forager and consumes both fruits and insects. This bird adapts to a wide variety of habitats and thrives in open, shrubby areas like the SBG. What brings it to the SBG? Food, cover, nesting sites. In summer they can be heard singing from among the cup plants and shrubs in the SBG; in winter they have been observed gleaning seeds from plants left standing in the Demonstration Gardens. When can I see it? Year-round. |