Swamp Sparrow    Melospiza georgiana

Migratory Status: Short-distance migrant

PIF Population Estimate: 9 000 000

Percent of western hemisphere population breeding in boreal forest: 80%

BAM Effective Detection Radius (m) : 71.64

PIF Maximum Detection Distance (m) : 125

Canadian BBS Population trend: 1.3 (0.2 to 2.3)

Life History

Take a tour around a wetland - be it a bog, marsh, or swamp in the boreal forest - and you will hear the loud “weet-weet-weet-weet-weet” trill of the Swamp Sparrow. Water is the one habitat feature common to all Swamp Sparrow populations. Without it, you will not find this fittingly named species.

In breeding plumage, male Swamp Sparrows are attractive birds but are seldom seen, except when singing from exposed perches throughout their territory. Breeding males have a deep chestnut-coloured crown, whitish eyebrow, and grayish face and neck. Upperparts are reddish-brown with black streaks, and underparts are white or gray. Females are similar in appearance, though smaller, and can be distinguished from males by a dull-coloured crown. In non-breeding plumage, the chestnut crown of both sexes is streaked with a gray central stripe.

In Canada, the Swamp Sparrow can be found breeding south of the tree line from the Yukon Territory and eastern British Columbia, across the boreal forest to Newfoundland and Labrador, wherever appropriate habitat is found. In the United States, the breeding range extends from North and South Dakota, east through the Great Lakes Region to the coast of Maryland and the mountainous regions of West Virginia. In the winter, the Swamp Sparrow can be found near wet areas below 300 m, in the eastern United States from New England south to Florida, following the Gulf of Mexico into Texas and Mexico.

Given its wide distribution, both the song and physical features of the Swamp Sparrow vary geographically. Three subspecies have been recognized based on this variation (M. g. nigrescens, M. g. ericrypta, and M. g. Georgiana), each with its own song dialect. Each subspecies has the same notes in their song repertoire, but each combines the notes in a different order, so each subspecies sings a slightly different song.

The Swamp Sparrow forages on the ground, skirting around the water’s edge searching for seeds and insects in the leaf litter and mud, and occasionally among the branches of small shrubs and trees. While foraging, it will wade into shallow water and take insects from the surface, and even submerge its head to capture an aquatic invertebrate. The Swamp Sparrow has adapted to foraging in shallow water with its long legs, which are longer than those of any other member of the Melospiza genus.

Reference(s)

Mowbray, T. B. 1997. Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana), The Birds of North America Online, . A. Poole, Ed. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/279