Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The song sparrow — known in Spanish as chingolo cantor or gorrión cantor — is one of the most widespread and most studied birds in North America, streaked brown with a dark spot in the centre of the breast. It shows extraordinary geographical variation, with more than twenty subspecies differing enormously in size and colour. It is the classic model in studies of how birds learn to sing.

Weight

12 g – 53 g

Size

12 cm – 18 cm

Lifespan

11 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

It is one of the model organisms of the neuroscience of vocal learning: decades of experiments on this species have established how a bird memorises a tutor's song and later reproduces it after weeks of practice.
Its geographical variation is among the greatest of any North American bird: the forms of the Aleutian Islands weigh more than three times as much as those of the desert south-west.
City males sing at a higher pitch than country ones to make themselves heard over traffic noise, an adjustment documented in several urban populations.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Scrub, marshes, hedgerows, gardens and woodland edges across almost all of North America
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 12 days
Litter / clutch size: 4

Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/