SONG SPARROW
Melospiza meloidia

Family:  Emberizidae

Band size:  1B

Song sparrows are very common in the Santa Monica Mountains of California.  It is the fourth most common bird that we encounter at our Zuma Canyon Bird Banding station. It is found across most of North America.  It is also quite a variable species with 39 races in four groups (Byers et al, 1995) or 29 races in six groups (Pyle, 1997).  M.m. cooperi is the race we encounter.  The chaparral or scrub habitat of the Santa Monica Mountains is typical for this bird.  It is reported in almost any sort of brushy, non-forested habitat from hedgerows to riparian areas, and even in open areas as long as shrub cover is present.

     It is a medium sized sparrow, about 16-19 cm long and weighing.   In general, the head is distinguished by a distinctive grayish supercilium, light median crown stripe, and a dark malar stripe.  The upperpart is streaked and brownish.  The whitish underparts has variable dark streaking which merge in the center of the breast to form a dark splotch.  The sexes are identical.  The wingchord for M.m. cooperi is 54-66 mm and the tail is 57-67 mm.

    It is fairly easy to spot this bird, as it perches on top of shrubs and gives three or four clear notes followed by a buzzy tow-wee and a trill.  The "story" whose origin I have long ago forgotten is that the beautiful, distinctive song of the Song Sparrow made other birds jealous.  These birds threw mud on the beautiful white breast of the Song Sparrow and that now shows up as this "mud splotch."

Bird Banding: My experience is t hat this is an easily mis-identified bird by inexperienced banders.  Banding in southern California,  large dark individuals are mistaken for Fox Sparrows which winter here, and which have streaked underparts but are much larger birds.  It is more often mistaken for Lincoln Sparrows.  This is one of  Kimball Garrett's favorite mis-identification by birders.  Birders report Lincoln Sparrows coastally in the summer.  In summer and in the early fall, young (HY) Song Sparrows lack the distinct gray supercilium, are buffier, and have finer streaks on the underparts, i.e. like a Lincoln Sparrow.  However, Lincoln Sparrows breed in meadows in higher elevations and do not migrate altitudinally down to coastal southern California until winter.

    The two are relatively easy to separate in the hand.  Pyle (1997) provides a number of morphological, in hand, characteristics.  In a quick look at the bird in hand, I have noted Lincoln Sparrows are smaller, more delicate birds

 Song Sparrow (L) and Lincoln Sparrow (R)