Song Sparrow in your Brush Pile

BirdNote^®

Song Sparrow in Your Brush Pile

Written by Frances Wood

This is BirdNote!

[Song of the Song Sparrow]

These clear, spring notes belong to a bird celebrated for its singing - the Song Sparrow.

[Song of the Song Sparrow]

Without that melodious song, this skulking bird could be overlooked, since it stays low, often hiding in brambles or piles of brush. And it nests on or near the ground.

When the Song Sparrow pops up on top of a tangle of branches to offer its cheery song, you’ll see a dull brown bird. At first glance, this sparrow seems a perfect example of an “LBB” or Little Brown Bird. But look closely: gray stripes adorn its rusty-brown head. The pale breast is streaked heavily with brown, often coalescing into a central spot. Song Sparrows frequently twitch their tails up and down, even when flying low across a clearing.

This widespread songster is found throughout the United States and into Southern Canada. If you’d like to bring them into your garden, plant thick, low vegetation, or create a brush pile. Then this lovely sound may fill your day, since the Song Sparrow utters its serenade morning, noon, and evening.

[More Song Sparrow] 

I'm Mary McCann.

Support for BirdNote comes from the Cornell Lab’s Bird Academy, with online courses for people of all knowledge levels. More at All About Birds dot org.

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Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Song of the Song Sparrow recorded by G.A. Keller.

BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

Producer: John Kessler

Executive Producer: Chris Peterson

© 2014 Tune In to Nature.org    April 2017/2021   Narrator: Mary McCann

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