Sparrows of the West #7 - Song Sparrow 1153

            The Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is a medium-sized New World sparrow. Among the native sparrows in North America, it is easily one of the most abundant, variable and adaptable species. Though a habitat generalist, the song sparrow favors brushland and marshes, including salt marshes across most of Canada and the United States. This one was in the marsh at the Carquinez Strait in Martinez, California. It is a native resident, and it is rare to go there without seeing one. 

It's beauty, for me anyway, is in its feather patterns on the breast and the eye bar, but it is the song which must have immediately impressed whomever named it. "The sparrow species derives its name from its colorful repertoire of songs. Enthusiasts report that one of the songs heard often in suburban locations closely resembles the opening four notes of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The male uses a fairly complex song to declare ownership of its territory and attract females."

By the way, the song varies from region to region, and in comparison with other sparrows there are many songs. The Song sparrow in Martinez is different from the one on Mt. Diablo.

I have found differences in coloring from the interior, Mt.Diablo in particular, and the Pacific coast from Elkhorn Slough to Big Sur. I'll get into that tomorrow.

Half my hundred images of this bird are of it singing. This image follows the "rules" that I spoke of yesterday with the White-crowned sparrow at Mt. Rainier.

Taken in: United States / California / Martinez (show map)

Taken on: April 29, 2010

Tags:

Song

sparrow

melodia)

All

North

America

New

World

Native

Martinez

Carquinez Strait

Estuary

Marsh

Grassland by the Duck Pond

Sparrow Species Series #6 « less

Sets appears in: • Songbirds - Wrens • Sparrows & Flycatchers

Groups appears in: • Birds • Sparrows more » • Bird Lovers • "Bird Brained" • Nature, wildlife, and the great outdoors • The Beauty of Nature • Birding In The Wild • Wild Nature • The Birds Of Flickr • Birdshare • Sparrows of beauty • Photographing Birds • Sparrows of North America • A Guide To WARBLERS,SPARROWS,and THRUSHES,of North America. • Birds ONLY!!! • Finches and Sparrows • Flickr Global (Your Best Photographs). • Sparrow & Finch • All Birds International • Bird Portraits • MAD about BIRDS! • Nature For All: Flora & Fauna • Nature Birds Photos • Beloved Birds « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX10 IS, f/6.3, 1/500 sec, 100mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	100mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	ACDSee Pro 6
Show full info

Stats: 956 views / 14 comments

close tools panel

Badge creator

Use Flickriver Badge Creator to create a badge linking to your photos, your group or any other Flickriver view.

You can place your badge on your Flickr profile, Blog or Website.

Add to your iGoogle or Netvibes page

Flickriver widget for iGoogle or Netvibes can display almost any Flickriver view - most interesting today, by user, by group, by tag etc. Once added to your personalized homepage, just edit widget settings to select your desired view.

Clickr on one of the buttons below to install:

Embed on your Web site

To embed this view, Copy and Paste the following HTML code:

Black background (preview):

White background (preview):

Firefox and Chrome addons

Adds a 'Flickriver' button to your browser. While viewing any Flickr photos page, click on this button to open the same view on Flickriver.

Install in Firefox
Install in Chrome

Search plugin

Add 'Search on Flickriver' to your browser's search box. Works with Firefox and Internet Explorer. Install search plugin

"View on Flickriver" Greasemonkey script

A Greasemonkey script that adds Flickriver links to various Flickr photo pages - user photos, favorites, pools etc, allowing to quickly open the corresponding Flickriver view.

Also, allows quickly viewing any Flickr photo on black background in large size.

Install "View on Flickriver" script

Bookmarklet

While viewing any Flickr photos page, click on the bookmarklet to open the same view on Flickriver.

To install: drag and drop the following link to your Bookmarks toolbar.
IE users - add the link to your Favorites under the Links folder