song sparrow

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A song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) perched on a cattail stem, beak open as if singing, with brown streaked plumage and a blurred green background.

song sparrow

bird

Also known as: Melospiza melodia

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July 14, 2026

Quick Summary

A song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) perched on a cattail stem, beak open as if singing, with brown streaked plumage and a blurred green background. — song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) on a branch.

The song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is a North American sparrow known for its melodious song. It is a small bird, typically brownish above and white below, with streaks of brown on its breast.1

Sparrows, in general, are small, seed-eating birds with conical bills. The term "sparrow" can refer to birds in the Old World family Passeridae, such as the common house sparrow, or to many New World birds in the family Emberizidae. The song sparrow belongs to the Emberizidae family. Other examples of Emberizidae sparrows found in North America include the chipping sparrow, tree sparrow, savanna sparrow, vesper sparrow, fox sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, and white-throated sparrow.2

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

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animal social behavior
The proximate mechanisms of social behavior
…period of song learning in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). There is a sensitive period in the first summer of life when young birds learn much of their song, but field studies show that learning also continues through the first year. In song sparrows this involves developing and storing fairly exact…
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…period of song learning in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). There is a sensitive period in the first summer of life when young birds learn much of their song, but field studies show that learning also continues through the first year. In song sparrows this involves developing and storing fairly exact…
Read More

sparrow
…birds of grassy fields; the song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) and the fox sparrow (Passerella iliaca), heavily streaked skulkers in woodlands; and the white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) and the white-throated sparrow (Z. albicollis), larger species with black-and-white crown stripes. The rufous-collared sparrow (Z. capensis)
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…birds of grassy fields; the song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) and the fox sparrow (Passerella iliaca), heavily streaked skulkers in woodlands; and the white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) and the white-throated sparrow (Z. albicollis), larger species with black-and-white crown stripes. The rufous-collared sparrow (Z. capensis)
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Margaret Morse Nice
Research and publication: Ornithology
…activities of several generations of song sparrows (M. melodia). Throughout the eight-year project, she studied the songs, learning abilities, territoriality, nesting habits, and social behavior of the species and published her results in the two-volume work called Studies in the Life History of the Song Sparrow (1937 and 1943). The…
Read More
…activities of several generations of song sparrows (M. melodia). Throughout the eight-year project, she studied the songs, learning abilities, territoriality, nesting habits, and social behavior of the species and published her results in the two-volume work called Studies in the Life History of the Song Sparrow (1937 and 1943). The…
Read More