Melospiza
Encyclopedia
Melospiza is a genus
of passerine
bird
s in family
Emberizidae
. The genus, commonly referred to as "song sparrows," contains currently three species
, all of which are native to North America.
Members of Melospiza are medium-sized sparrows with long tails, which are pumped in flight and held moderately high on perching. They are not seen in flocks, but as a few individuals or solitary. They prefer brushy habitats, often near water.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Emberizidae
Emberizidae
The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the sparrows, the...
. The genus, commonly referred to as "song sparrows," contains currently three species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, all of which are native to North America.
Members of Melospiza are medium-sized sparrows with long tails, which are pumped in flight and held moderately high on perching. They are not seen in flocks, but as a few individuals or solitary. They prefer brushy habitats, often near water.
Species of Melospiza
- Lincoln's SparrowLincoln's SparrowThe Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, is a medium-sized sparrow.Adults have dark-streaked olive-brown upperparts with a light brown breast with fine streaks, a white belly, and a white throat. They have a brown cap with a grey stripe in the middle, olive-brown wings, and a narrow tail. Their...
, Melospiza lincolnii. - Song SparrowSong SparrowThe Song Sparrow is a medium-sized American sparrow.Adults have brown upperparts with dark streaks on the back and are white underneath with dark streaking and a dark brown spot in the middle of the breast. They have a brown cap and a long brown rounded tail. Their face is grey with a streak...
, Melospiza melodia. - Swamp SparrowSwamp SparrowThe Swamp Sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow related to the Song Sparrow.Adults have streaked rusty, buff and black upperparts with a gray breast, light belly and a white throat. The wings are strikingly rusty. Most males and a few females have a rust-colored caps. Their face is gray with a dark...
, Melospiza georgiana.