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

"The existence of 'locally adapted' populations implies that natural selection has shaped the genetic makeup of song sparrow populations across their range, enabling individuals to survive and reproduce in drastically different climatic conditions," said Carbeck.

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

As I climb over the fence into Bando’s pasture, a song sparrow clicks out his alarm note from the raspberry thicket.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George