1504 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part 3 



The songs of this sparrow consist of a series of different phrases (mostly 1- to 

 4-noted), and usually a trill; many of the notes are buzzy. * * * A given bird 

 has a vocabulary of a large number of notes and phrases, and these are variously 

 combined to produce up to a dozen or more different song patterns; the different 

 patterns of a given bird are often quite different. The songs of a given pattern 

 may vary * * *. 



Song Sparrow songs are of two general types, those beginning with two to four 

 (rarely one or five) similar and equally spaced phrases, and those beginning 

 with four to twenty similar phrases that increase in tempo * * *. Songs of the 

 first type were much more common, making up 83.8 percent of the Ohio [euphonia] 

 patterns and 86.7 per cent of the Maine [melodia] patterns * * *. 



A Song Sparrow apparently has an inborn tendency to sing songs of two general 

 types, but it learns its phrases by listening to other, nearby Song Sparrows. 

 As a result, the songs of different birds in a local population contain similar notes 

 and phrases (but usually arranged differently), while the songs of birds in separated 

 populations contain different phrases. The farther away two populations are, 

 the less likely they are to use similar phrases in their songs. 



In a later, very detailed analysis of variation in the songs of Maine 

 song sparrows, Borror (1965) found 544 song patterns represented 

 in 7,212 tape-recorded songs of 120 birds. 



A description of autumnal song by Forbush (1929) probably is 

 applicable not to adults but only to birds of the year: Most of the 

 singing [in fall] is quite different, ranging from a low connected warble 

 to a song resembling that of the Purple Finch, and (rarely) one like 

 that of the Vesper Sparrow. There is a particularly low, sweet 

 melancholy warble uttered just before the bird departs for the south." 

 Formless, continuous warbling of the kind described is commonly 

 a stage in the ontogeny of song in passerines (Lanyon, 1960). 



Call notes are described as "tchenk," "tchip," "tchunk," "chip," 

 "tcheek," "chuck." Forbush also mentions a note "sst"; a similar 

 note given by California races is regarded by Dawson (1923) as 

 functioning as a flocking or recognition call. 



Field Marks. — A medium-sized sparrow, the song sparrow is best 

 recognized by the heavily streaked breast, on which the streaks are 

 "confluent into a large central spot" (Peterson, 1947). In flight, 

 which is usually for short distances between perches or into cover, 

 the bird is distinguished by its manner of pumping its rather long, 

 rounded tail up and down. Witmer Stone (1937) describes this 

 flight graphically as "'brokenbacked' * * * as if the tail were hinged 

 at the base." 



Banding — The longevity record for banded song sparrows appears 

 to be about 8 or 9 years. Mrs. Nice (infra) reports a male that was at 

 least 7% and possibly 9K years old at death. A song sparrow Mrs. K. 

 C. Harding (1943) banded April 27, 1936 at Cohasset, Mass., and 

 recaptured there on April 5, 1943, was in at least its 8th year. 



Recaptures and recoveries at points other than the original banding 

 station have been reported with some frequency in the journal, 



