ABSTRACT
Song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) are one of the most widespread and abundant of North American passerines. They are found at forest edges, along the margins of streams and ponds, and in shrub thickets, gardens, and salt marshes. Song sparrows vary in plumage color and body size, with larger, darker individuals on the northwest coast. Their food is seeds or herbs and grasses in winter, insects and seeds in the spring and early summer, and seeds, fruits, and insects in autumn. A rough index of song sparrow numbers may be obtained from counts or transects of singing males. Standardized sets of mist nets provide data for an estimate of population density using total numbers caught or recapture estimates. Song sparrows are extremely sedentary and can be counted if all individuals can be color-marked. Enumeration is the only totally reliable method, but is very time consuming and is difficult because some classes of birds are hard to see.
