Name That Tune

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Name That Tune
Song Sparrows The Little Birds Behind the Big
Music
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IdentifyingSong Sparrows

• Song Sparrows pump their tails up and down as
  they fly
• Song Sparrows have fairly conspicuous brown spots
  in the centers of their chests

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Havent I Seen You Before?

• Song Sparrows are found in every state of the
  Union
• Most wide-spread native sparrow
• 31 subspecies, more than any other North American
  bird species

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Song SparrowFun Facts

• Oldest known banded Song Sparrow was more than 11
  years old
• Song Sparrow pairs will live and nest in less
  than 2 acres and may raise up to 4 broods in a
  year

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Song SparrowFun Facts

• 86 of winter diet is plant seeds
• Average weight is less than an ounce, but can
  fluctuate up to 20 in 24 hours

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Songs of the Song Sparrow

• Sing throughout the year
• Adult males perform between 6 to 20 different
  melodies
• Songs can vary from 4 to 20 notes and last from 2
  to more than 5 seconds

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Songs of the Song Sparrow

• During the dawn twilight, males will sing a song
  every 8 seconds and may average 2,300 songs in a
  day
• Females are attracted to males that learn and
  sing a larger variety of songs

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BackyardBehavior

• Song Sparrows prefer to forage on the ground and
  favor millet seed
• Select seeds based on abundance and easiest to
  open
• Takes only a few seconds to husk seeds

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BackyardBehavior

• Aggressive around feeders and can dominate larger
  birds
• Have been known to challenge as many as 5 House
  Sparrows at once
• Rarely feed in flocks to avoid predators

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NestingBehavior

• Song Sparrow nests are usually found under grassy
  tufts on the ground or in bushes or shrubbery
• Females do most of the nest construction while
  males defend their territory

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NestingBehavior

• Warmer temperatures and abundant food can trigger
  breeding to begin early
• Song Sparrows with access to millet feeders
  nested and produced eggs 14 days earlier than
  those without access to feeders

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Singingthe Blues

• Nest predators include deer mice, raccoons,
  minks, rats, snakes and domestic cats
• Adults killed by foxes, and birds such as
  Coopers Hawks

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Singingthe Blues

• Song Sparrows are probably parasitized by the
  Brown-headed Cowbird more often any other bird
• Studies have shown that 44 of the Song Sparrow
  nests in Ohio and 85 of those in Ontario were
  cowbird victims

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