song sparrow

American  

noun

1. a small emberizine songbird, Melospiza melodia, common in North America.

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song sparrow British  

noun

1. a common North American finch, Melospiza melodia, having brown-and-white plumage and a melodious song

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Etymology

Origin of song sparrow

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

song sparrow

Carbeck and colleagues from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, University of Alaska and Ouachita Baptist University used the power of whole-genome sequencing to decode the entire song sparrow genome and unlock its secrets.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2023

Besides the lapping of diminutive waves, the only sound might be the signature jingle of a nearby song sparrow.

From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2019

A song sparrow that had been shredded by a cat and couldn’t stand is taking flight practice in an aviary behind the clinic and looks “ready to roll,” Rosenhagen says.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2018

“For the song sparrow, red-winged blackbird and yellow warbler, we got a similar rate of detections from our recordings as from the ground,” he says.

From Nature ● Aug. 28, 2016

The song sparrow, who knows how brief and lovely life is, says, “Sweet, sweet, sweet interlude; sweet, sweet, sweet interlude.”

From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White