Re: Song Sparrow Song Diversity

There is a huge amount known about Song Sparrow song, much of it founded on the pioneering work of Margaret Morse Nice (1883-1974).  Most of her Song Sparrow work is presented in the classic two volume monograph Studies in the Life History of the Song Sparrow.  She presented a popular version in The Watcher at the Nest (illustrated by Roger Tory Peterson).  She also made important contributions to the study of many other species of birds, and important contributions to areas as diverse as territoriality and the development of behavior.  Her autobiography, Research is a Passion with Me, is well worth reading.

Here is a bit of information on Song Sparrow song (largely drawn from the BNA account):

Each adult male Song Sparrow has a repertoire of about 5 to 13 song types (and those song types are sung with some variation, resulting in a net effect of a great deal of possible variation within the the singing of any one individual).

Song delivery by males of this species is typically "eventual variety," i.e., the singer sings several to many of one song type before switching to another song type.

Song Sparrows use songs in complex interactions among neighboring males; a male can match a song type sung by a neighbor, sing a non-matching but shared song, or sing an unshared song.  Song Sparrows can recognize neighbors as individuals by song.  The degree of song sharing among neighbors varies geographically.

There is both individual and geographic variation in songs.  The number of introductory notes varies from 1 to about 20.

Song Sparrows are capable of learning songs both in the first two months of life and later, after dispersal.  The degree to which they learn songs from their hatch area and from the area where they eventually settle on a territory probably varies among regions and among individual birds.

David Spector
Belchertown, Massachusetts

-----Original Message-----
From: National Birding Hotline Cooperative (Chat Line) on behalf of Pastor Al Schirmacher
Sent: Mon 6/29/2009 1:47 PM
To: BIRDCHAT@...
Subject: [BIRDCHAT] Song Sparrow Song Diversity
 
How diverse are Song Sparrow songs?

Recently I heard one sing a classic song, then end in three trilling notes;
on the way back from lunch today I heard one sing two opening notes like a
Vesper, then continue as normal.  Do they learn from other sparrows near
their territory?  Do juveniles struggle with their initial songs?  Is
hybridization an issue?

(Hard to admit I know so little about a common songster - although am
comforted by Kenn Kaufman's admission a number of years back that he
couldn't adequately describe a BC Chickadee to his own satisfaction.)

Good birding to all!

Al Schirmacher
Princeton, MN
Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties

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