The Song Sparrow is a species of New World sparrow found across much of North America. It is a migratory species, spending the winter across southern parts of the United States and breeding across a wide part of Canada. Birds residing across much of the United States may be year-round residents.
Song Sparrows are highly variable in their plumage and song. There are at least 24 widely accepted subspecies recognized, though up to 52 have been named. Song Sparrows generally have streaked brownish upperparts and streaking on the whitish underparts with a central dark spot in the middle of the breast.
Song Sparrows have a large natural range and their population trend is stable. They have a conservation status of Least Concern as of October 2014.
The Song Sparrow is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Researchers in Oregon are working on a huge survey of birds in the state: Oregon 2020. Data from field observations is being compiled to determine the abundance and distribution of Oregon's bird species. The study in part uses data collected by citizen scientists who bird the state and... Read more »
The second bird in our 2014 Bonanza is a North American sparrow: the Song Sparrow! In our clue yesterday, we indicated that the Song Sparrow is an LBJ with a... Read more »
