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Henry Sowell

Vol. I · Est. 2026

Pl. CXX
Field-journal plate: Swamp Sparrow
The Swamp Sparrow plate as rendered on the e-ink frame
As rendered on the frame

The Birds · Plate CXX

Swamp Sparrow

Melospiza georgiana

Passerellidae · Taxon 9096

Length12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in)
Wingspan18–19 cm (7.1–7.5 in)
Weight15–23 g (0.5–0.8 oz)

Field marks

  1. Compact, robust sparrow with a moderately long, rounded tail
  2. Relatively long, pinkish legs
  3. Short conical bill with a yellowish base
  4. Rusty crown in breeding plumage; browner and streaked outside the breeding season
  5. Gray face with a dark eye and dark line behind it; clean whitish throat
  6. Rusty-chestnut wings and back marked with dark streaks

HabitatDensely vegetated wetlands, especially freshwater marshes, sedge swamps, bogs, wet meadows, and brushy margins with cattails, reeds, grasses, or shrubs. Also uses brackish marshes; during migration and winter it may occur in damp thickets, streamside cover, and weedy fields.

BehaviorUsually remains low in dense cover, walking or climbing through vegetation and making short flights when flushed. Forages on mud, at water edges, and in shallow water, picking seeds and invertebrates from the ground, plants, or water surface. Males sing a simple trill from raised perches.

Palette

rusty chestnutwarm brownsoft graycreamy whiteblack