The swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) is a medium-sized New World sparrow related to the song sparrow.

Description

thumb|left|In [[Quebec, Canada]]

Measurements:

  • Length: 4.7–5.9 in (12–15 cm)
  • Weight: 0.5–0.8 oz (15–23 g)
  • Wingspan: 7.1–7.5 in (18–19 cm)

Adults have streaked rusty, buff and black upperparts with an unstreaked gray breast, light belly and a white throat. The wings are strikingly rusty. Most males and a few females have rust-colored caps. Their face is gray with a dark line through the eye. They have a short bill and fairly long legs. Immature birds and winter adults usually have two brown crown stripes and much of the gray is replaced with buff.

Distribution and habitat

Swamp sparrows breed across the northern United States and boreal Canada. The southern edge of their breeding range coincides largely with the Line of Maximum Glaciation. A small number of morphologically distinct birds inhabit tidal marshes from northern Virginia to the Hudson River Estuary. This subspecies (M. g. nigrescens) winters in coastal marshes of the Carolinas and differs from the two inland swamp sparrow subspecies in having more black in a grayer overall plumage, larger bill, different songs, and a smaller average clutch size.

Their breeding habitat is marshes, including brackish marshes, across eastern North America and central Canada. The bulky nest is attached to marsh vegetation, often just above the ground or surface of the water with leaves or grass arching over the top. The female builds a new nest each year and lays an average of four eggs per clutch. Females give a series of chips as they leave the nest, probably to ward off attacks by their mate or neighboring males.

While swamp sparrows can be found year-round in small numbers on the southern edge of their breeding range, individuals are probably all migratory, primarily migrating to the southeastern United States.

Diet

Swamp sparrows generally forage on the ground near the water's edge, in shallow water or in marsh vegetation. In winter, their diet is principally fruit and seeds, while during the breeding season their diet is mainly arthropods. It is however susceptible to habitat loss, particularly in coastal salt marshes. In its southern range and in coastal habitats their numbers have locally declined, in part due to habitat loss.

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Swamp Sparrow RWD maine.jpg|Juvenile bird in August in Maine

Melospiza georgiana MN2.jpg|In Quebec, Canada

Melospiza georgiana Sam Smith Park Toronto.jpg|In Toronto, Ontario

SwampSparrow.jpg|At Lake Mattamuskeet in North Carolina

<!--20231103 swamp sparrow south meadows PND08872.jpg|In East Hartford, Connecticut-->

</gallery>

References

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  • Swamp sparrow species account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  • Swamp sparrow - Melospiza georgiana - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter

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Further reading

Book

  • Mowbray, T. B. 1997. Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana). In The Birds of North America, No. 279 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Theses

  • Balaban ES. Ph.D. (1986). CULTURAL AND GENETIC VARIATION IN SWAMP SPARROWS (MELOSPIZA GEORGIANA). The Rockefeller University, United States -- New York.
  • Doster RH. Ph.D. (2005). Ecology and conservation of wintering migratory birds in early-successional habitats of the lower Mississippi River alluvial valley. University of Arkansas, United States -- Arkansas.
  • Gaudette MT. Ph.D. (1998). Modeling wetland songbird community integrity in central Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania State University, United States -- Pennsylvania.
  • Podos JE. Ph.D. (1996). Performance limits on vocal evolution in songbirds (Passeriformes: Emberizidae). Duke University, United States -- North Carolina.

Articles

  • Anon. (1968). Fox Sparrow Very Rare Summer Resident 10-11-65 Swamp Sparrow Rare Winter Visitor 9-11-67 10-29-67 Lykins Gulch Colorado USA. Colorado Field Ornithologist. vol 4, p. 13-14.
  • Balaban E. (1988). Cultural and Genetic Variation in Swamp Sparrows Melospiza-Georgiana I. Song Variation Genetic Variation and Their Relationship. Behaviour. vol 105, no 3-4. p. 250-291.
  • Balaban E. (1988). Cultural and Genetic Variation in Swamp Sparrows Melospiza-Georgiana Ii. Behavioral Salience of Geographic Song Variants. Behaviour. vol 105, no 3-4. p. 292-322.
  • Barger NR. (1969). Swamp Sparrow Melospiza-Georgiana. Wisconsin Conservation Bulletin. vol 34, no 3. p. 30-31.
  • Beadell J, Greenberg R, Droege S & Royle JA. (2003). Distribution, abundance, and habitat affinities of the Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow. Wilson Bulletin. vol 115, no 1. p. 38-44.
  • Clark CW, Marler P & Beeman K. (1987). QUANTITATIVE-ANALYSIS OF ANIMAL VOCAL PHONOLOGY - AN APPLICATION TO SWAMP SPARROW SONG. Ethology. vol 76, no 2. p. 101-115.
  • Dickson RD. (1991). Northern Mockingbird and Swamp Sparrow Overwinter in Calgary Alberta Canada. Blue Jay. vol 49, no 2. p. 70-71.
  • Dooling R & Searcy M. (1980). Early Perceptual Selectivity in the Swamp Sparrow Melospiza-Georgiana. Developmental Psychobiology. vol 13, no 5. p. 499-506.
  • Greenberg R. (1988). Seasonal Plumage Dimorphism in the Swamp Sparrow. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 59, no 2. p. 149-154.
  • Greenberg R, Cordero PJ, Droege S & Fleischer RC. (1998). Morphological adaptation with no mitochondrial DNA differentiation in the coastal plain swamp sparrow. Auk. vol 115, no 3. p. 706-712.
  • Greenberg R & Droege S. (1990). Adaptations to Tidal Marshes in Breeding Populations of the Swamp Sparrow. Condor. vol 92, no 2. p. 393-404.
  • Greenberg R, Olsen BJ, & Etterson, MA. (2010). Patterns of seasonal abundance and social segregation in inland and coastal plain swamp sparrows in a Delaware tidal marsh. The Condor. vol 112, no 1. p. 159-167.
  • Legare ML, McNair DB, Conway WC & Legare SA. (2000). Swamp Sparrow winter site fidelity records in Florida. Florida Field Naturalist. vol 28, no 2. p. 73-74.
  • Marler P & Peters S. (1981). Sparrows Melospiza-Georgiana Learn Adult Song and More from Memory. Science. vol 213, no 4509. p. 780-782.
  • Marler P & Peters S. (1982). Structural Changes in Song Ontogeny in the Swamp Sparrow Melospiza-Georgiana. Auk. vol 99, no 3. p. 446-458.
  • Marler P & Peters S. (1988). SENSITIVE PERIODS FOR SONG ACQUISITION FROM TAPE RECORDINGS AND LIVE TUTORS IN THE SWAMP SPARROW, MELOSPIZA-GEORGIANA. Ethology. vol 77, no 1. p. 76-84.
  • Marler P & Pickert R. (1984). Species-Universal Microstructure in the Learned Song of the Swamp Sparrow Melospiza-Georgiana. Animal Behaviour. vol 32, no 3. p. 673-689.
  • Nowicki S & Peters S. (1991). Motor Bases of Behavioral Stereotypy in Swamp Sparrow Song Note Production. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts. vol 17, no 1-2.
  • Okanoya K & Dooling RJ. (1988). Hearing in the Swamp Sparrow Melospiza-Georgiana and the Song Sparrow Melospiza-Melodia. Animal Behaviour. vol 36, no 3. p. 726-732.
  • Okanya K & Dooling RJ. (1990). Song-Syllable Perception in Song Sparrows Melospiza-Melodia and Swamp Sparrows Melospiza-Georgiana an Approach from Animal Psychophysics. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society. vol 28, no 3. p. 221-224.
  • Peters SS, Searcy WA & Marler P. (1980). Species Song Discrimination in Choice Experiments with Territorial Male Swamp Melospiza-Georgiana and Song Sparrows Melospiza-Melodia. Animal Behaviour. vol 28, no 2. p. 393-404.
  • Podos J, Peters S & Nowicki S. (2004). Calibration of song learning targets during vocal ontogeny in swamp sparrows, Melospiza georgiana. Animal Behaviour. vol 68, no Part 4. p. 929-940.
  • Reinert SE & Golet FC. (1979). Breeding Ecology of the Swamp Sparrow Melospiza-Georgiana in a Southern Rhode-Island USA Peatland. Transactions of the Northeast Section the Wildlife Society. vol 36, p. 1-13.
  • Rimmer CC. (1986). Identification of Juvenile Lincoln's Melospiza-Lincolnii and Swamp Sparrows Melospiza-Georgiana. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 57, no 2. p. 114-125.
  • Searcy W, Balaban E, Canady RA, Clark SJ, Runfeldt S & Williams H. (1981). Responsiveness of Male Swamp Sparrows Melospiza-Georgiana to Temporal Organization of Song. Auk. vol 98, no 3. p. 613-615.
  • Searcy WA, Marler P & Peters SS. (1981). Species Song Discrimination in Adult Female Song Sparrows Melospiza-Melodia and Swamp Sparrows Melospiza-Georgiana. Animal Behaviour. vol 29, no 4. p. 997-1003.
  • Searcy WA, McArthur PD, Peters SS & Marler P. (1981). Response of Male Song Sparrows Melospiza-Melodia and Swamp Sparrows Melospiza-Georgiana to Neighbor Stranger and Self Songs. Behaviour. vol 77, no 3. p. 152-163.
  • Searcy WA, Searcy MH & Marler P. (1982). The Response of Swamp Sparrows Melospiza-Georgiana to Acoustically Distinct Song Types. Behaviour. vol 80, no 1-2. p. 70-83.

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