EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1503 



Six to eight songs per minute is the frequency during the dawn hours 

 of the breeding period (Forbush), with singing continuing, but less 

 frequently, all day. Knight (190S) reports that in summer in 

 Maine most singing occurs during the dawn and evening hours. 

 Forbush says that occasionally molting birds sing a whisper song. 



When singing, the male mounts to a position typically between 7 

 and 15 feet from the ground (Eaton, 1914); trees, shrubs, fences and 

 boidders are among the song posts used. Singing has often been 

 observed in birds on the wing, and Forbush's description, quoted 

 under Territory, indicates that this form of behavior may have become 

 an element in some displays. 



Female song sparrows have been known to sing, and Mrs. K. B. 

 Wetherbee (1935) has written of a female in Massachusetts that 

 sang "a clear series of whistled notes" from April to mid- June. 



Not only the vociferousness of the species but also the unusual 

 variability of the repertoires of the individual males are responsible 

 for an abundant descriptive literature. Further, the use of electronic 

 recording and analysis of songs has thrown light on the extent to which 

 song sparrow vocalizations are modifiable as opposed to innate. For 

 the present account, two authorities on bird song are quoted. 

 Aretas A. Saunders wrote Mr. Bent: "I have 885 records of the song, 

 no two of them alike. If we count trills as single notes, the number 

 of notes per song varies from 4 to 20, averaging about 11. The 

 length of songs varies from 1.8 to 5.2 seconds, the average being 2.7. 

 The pitch varies from D" to F"". The pitch interval varies from 1 

 to 7% tones, the average about 3% tones. Each individual song 

 sparrow sings a number of different songs. It commonly sings the 

 same song over a half a dozen times or so, and then takes up a different 

 song. The number of songs per individual varies from 6 to 24, the 

 latter being an unusual bird." 



The same author writing elsewhere (1951b) goes into additional 

 detail and reports the following: Pitch varies from 1150 to 5450 

 vibrations, in notes audible to man, and pitch intervals are similar 

 to those in human music. There is little variation in intensity. 

 "Quality is usually sweet and musical * * * . Consonant sounds 

 are not very noticeable. * * * The song has three parts: strongly 

 rhythmic introductory notes, a central trill, and a final series of rather 

 irregular and indefinite notes. * * * Songs are of five types * * * [dif- 

 fering] primarily in the position and relative pitches of the introduc- 

 tory notes and the trill." 



Donald J. Borror (1961), who analyzed 889 tape recording of songs 

 from 113 different individual song sparrows of the races melodia and 

 euphonia, writes, 



