Melospiza melodia
Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is a medium-sized New World sparrow. Among the native sparrows in North America, it is easily one of the most abundant, variable, and adaptable species. Adult song sparrows have brown upperparts with dark streaks on the back and are white underneath with dark streaking and a dark brown spot in the middle of the breast. They have a brown cap and a long brown rounded tail. Their face is gray with a brown streak through each eye. They are highly variable in size across numerous subspecies (for subspecies details, see below). The body length ranges from 11 to 18 cm (4.3 to 7.1 in) and wingspan can range from 18 to 25.4 cm (7.1 to 10.0 in). Body mass ranges from 11.9 to 53 g (0.42 to 1.87 oz). The average of all races is 32 g (1.1 oz) but the widespread nominate subspecies (M. m. melodia) weighs only about 22 g (0.78 oz) on average. The maximum lifespan in the wild is 11.3 years. The eggs of the song sparrow are brown with greenish-white spots. Females lay three to five eggs per clutch, with an average incubation time of 13–15 days before hatching.
In the field, they are most easily confused with Lincoln's sparrow and the Savannah... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Very likely
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a Song Sparrow sighting in Vancouver on a given day, based on 33,469 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April, June and October–January
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Song Sparrow in Vancouver on a given day, against about 70% in August, the lowest month.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Song Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 35 cities where we can rate Song Sparrow sightings, Vancouver ranks 2nd at about 90%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Portland (United States, about 90%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Song Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Vancouver (33,469 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
