Spot Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

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Song Sparrows are medium-sized and fairly bulky sparrows. For a sparrow, the bill is short and stout and the head fairly rounded. The tail is long and rounded, and the wings are broad, Song Sparrows are streaky and brown with thick streaks on a white chest and flanks. On a closer look, the head is an attractive mix of warm red-brown and slate gray. Diet and behavioral habits: These birds are common year-round, and their numbers have increased in Balboa Park over the last 40 years. Their diet consists of many insects, especially in summer, including beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, wasps, and spiders. In the winter, they feed heavily on seeds of grasses and weeds. Nesting habits: Nest site varies, usually on ground under clump of grass or shrub, or less than 4' above the ground, sometimes up to 10' or higher. Raised sites may be in shrubs, low trees, or marsh vegetation, often above water. Rarely nests in cavities in trees. Nest (built mostly or entirely by female) is an open cup of weeds, grass, leaves, and strips of bark, lined with fine grass, rootlets, and animal hair.

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