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Swamp Sparrow

Melospiza georgianaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Swamp Sparrow Breeding Adult Portrait
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General

Swamp Sparrow: Small sparrow with dark-streaked brown upperparts, gray upper breast, and pale gray, faintly streaked underparts. Head has rust-brown cap with paler median stripe and gray face. Wings are rust-brown with black-and-white streaks. Female and winter adult are duller. Juvenile is paler brown and more heavily streaked.

Range and Habitat

Swamp Sparrow: Breeds in Canada and the northern regions of eastern and central U.S., and spends winters in southeastern U.S. and Mexico. Preferred habitats include freshwater marshes, wetlands, bogs, and margins along streams and ponds; also found in salt marshes.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"peat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat", "zeee", "chip"

Interesting Facts

  • The Swamp Sparrow has longer legs than other members of its genus; this adaptation allows it to wade in shallow water to forage.
  • It sometimes sticks its head under water to try to capture aquatic invertebrates.
  • They begin singing very early in the day and will sometimes sing through the night, especially when there is moonlight.
  • A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a "crew", "flutter", "meinie", "quarrel", and "ubiquity" of sparrows.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Swamp Sparrow
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Melospiza georgiana
Length4.75 - 5.75 Inches
Wingspan7.75 Inches

Swamp Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow: Small sparrow with dark-streaked brown upperparts, gray upper breast, and pale gray, faintly streaked underparts. Head has rust-brown cap with paler median stripe and gray face. The wings are rust-brown with black-and-white streaks. Eats seeds, insects. Pink legs, feet.

● Song: "peat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat", "zeee", "chip"

● Foraging & Feeding: Swamp Sparrow: Feeds on beetles, ants, grasshoppers, crickets, and seeds; forages on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Swamp Sparrow: Three to six pale green eggs marked with red brown are laid in a bulky cup nest made of grass, lined with finer grass, and built in emergent vegetation over water. Incubation ranges from 12 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Swamp Sparrow: Song and Lincoln's sparrows lack rust-brown wings and have extensive dark streaks across breasts.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
Swamp Sparrow Breeding Adult Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Swamp Sparrow: Breeds in Canada and the northern regions of eastern and central U.S., and spends winters in southeastern U.S. and Mexico. Preferred habitats include freshwater marshes, wetlands, bogs, and margins along streams and ponds; also found in salt marshes.
BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.8 Ounces