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 70% of wildlife watchers report a Song Sparrow sighting in Elk Island National Park on a given day, based on 689 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 161 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Song Sparrow in Elk Island National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February, the lowest month. That is one of Elk Island National Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain against 20 mm in December.
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.
Yes
Of the 40 parks where we can rate Song Sparrow sightings, Elk Island National Park has the highest daily chance: about 70%. Next come Channel Islands National Park (United States, about 60%) and Acadia National Park (United States, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Melospiza
The closest relatives of the Song Sparrow that you can see in Elk Island National Park (genus Melospiza, Melospiza Sparrows) are Swamp Sparrow (about 20%) and Lincoln's Sparrow (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Song Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Elk Island National Park (689 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
