The Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia, is a great companion to have at your sit spot.
These active songsters are found in many places across the United States, from back yards to meadows, favoring thickets and hedgerows. The sparrow’s triangular beak points towards a steady diet of seeds (though a variety of insects are eaten during breeding season). The breast is heavily streaked with a dark central spot.
This is a bird that loves to stay close to the ground to feed and nest, and because of this, the song sparrow has a lot to say about ground-level potential dangers. Cats, foxes, and other ground predators all elicit responses from this observant sparrow. The males maintain a regular series of prominent song perches during breeding season, five to ten feet above the ground.
The song is often rendered as “Maids, maids, put on your tea-kettle-ettle-ettle.” Lang Elliot’s MusicOfNature.org site offers a wonderful video portrait of the song sparrow:
Because the song sparrow is so common and accessible, this bird offers a great chance to get to know one species, and one individual, very well.
