(Melospiza melodia)
Summer
Year-round
Winter
HABITAT: Thickets, bushes, weedy fields, and shrubby edge habitat, especially near water, such as streams, marshes, and coastlines
DESCRIPTION: Streaked and brownish overall; whitish below with heavy streaks converging in central breast spot; whitish throat bordered by two thick brown stripes; tail pumped in flight; western birds differ in color (some more reddish) and size (Alaskan ones huge)
Appropriately named, the Song Sparrow (Latin name melodia) is truly a fine songster. He begins by singing several bright notes, often sharply enunciated, that set a pleasing tone and rhythm for the two or three phrases to follow. What follows might be a broad buzzy note, or a distinctive trill of repeated phrases, or perhaps a complex of jumbled notes, two to three seconds all together. Although his sounds are often buzzy, many are beautifully tonal, and when sounds are repeated they often accelerate or decelerate, successive whistled notes becoming shorter or longer, for example. Listeners often remark about how lively and cheerful the songs sound and how recognizable and distinctively “Song Sparrow” they are.
Listen to song after song from a male; after five to fifteen songs he’ll switch to a strikingly different tune, and eventually to another, and still another from his eight-to-ten-song repertoire. With a little patience, you can come to recognize each of a male’s songs, following along as he sings all that he knows. In the West, neighboring males learn their songs from one another and routinely have identical songs in their repertoires; in contrast, songs of neighboring males in the East are different, though their songs contain many of the same component notes. Get to know a singing male, and listen to how he interacts with his neighbors. How often does he switch songs? Does he switch when his neighbor switches? Which particular song does he sing next?
Listen also for the rich, nasal, husky chimp note that is typical of Song Sparrows.
Three different male songs, delivered with eventual variety Husky chimp call 
