Song Sprarow [Melospiza melodia] • Brooklyn NY • 07/03/24

            The Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is a medium-sized New World sparrow.  A native sparrow in North America, it is easily one of the most abundant, variable and adaptable species.

Though a habitat generalist, the song sparrow favors brushland and marshes, including salt marshes across most of Canada and the United States. They also thrive in human dominated areas such as in suburbs, agricultural fields, and along roadsides. Permanent residents of the southern half of their range, northern populations of the song sparrow migrate to the southern United States or Mexico during winter and intermingle with the native, non-migratory population. The song sparrow is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, with a few recorded in Great Britain and Norway.

These birds forage on the ground, in shrubs or in very shallow water. They eat mainly insects and seeds. Birds in salt marshes may also eat small crustaceans. They nest either in a sheltered location on the ground or in trees or shrubs. Song sparrows with areas of shrub cover in their territory, away from the intertidal coastline, have greater over-winter survival, as well as higher reproductive success.

The sparrow species derives its name from its colorful repertoire of songs. Enthusiasts report that one of the songs heard often in suburban locations closely resembles the opening four notes of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The male uses a fairly complex song to declare ownership of its territory and attract females.

Singing itself consists of a combination of repeated notes, quickly passing isolated notes, and trills. The songs are very crisp, clear, and precise, making them easily distinguishable by human ears. A particular song is determined by not only pitch and rhythm but also the timbre of the trills. Although one bird will know many songs – as many as 20 different tunes with as many as 1000 improvised variations on the basic theme – unlike thrushes, the song sparrow usually repeats the same song many times before switching to a different song.

Song sparrows typically learn their songs from a handful of other birds that have neighboring territories. They are most likely to learn songs that are shared between these neighbors. Ultimately, they will choose a territory close to or replacing the birds that they have learned from. This allows the song sparrows to address their neighbors with songs shared with those neighbors. It has been demonstrated that song sparrows are able to distinguish neighbors from strangers on the basis of song, and also that females are able to distinguish (and prefer) their mate's songs from those of other neighboring birds, and they prefer songs of neighboring birds to those of strangers.

(Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, New York – July 3, 2024)

Taken in: United States / New York / Ebbets Field Houses (show map)

Taken on: July 3, 2024

Tags:

Song Sparrow

sparrow

avian

bird

songbird

Eukaryota

Animalia

Chordata

Aves

Passeriformes

Passerellidae

Melospiza

M. melodia

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Brooklyn New York

Brooklyn NY

Brooklyn

New York City

New York New York

New York NY

New York

NYC « less

Sets appears in: • Animals • Birds

Groups appears in: • birds from all over the world • Birds Photos - Check out the new discussions! more » • Birds Birds Birds ! (Check out the new discussion) • Birds of Happiness • volatiles du monde • Birds, all sizes, colors, any species....:) • Birds & More Birds • Birds birds everywhere « less

Camera: Nikon Z 7, f/6.3, 1/500 sec, 200mm (=220mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon Z 7
Lens:	NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	200mm (35mm equivalent: 220mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 22.1 (Macintosh)
Show full info

Stats: 688 views / 1 comment