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Subject:

Field Sparrow Alternate Song?

From:

Felicia Lovelett

Reply-To:

Felicia Lovelett

Date:

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:59:33 -0400

This afternoon, while birding along scrubby creek side on Marriottsville
Rd., I heard an unknown sparrow-like song.

I heard the song on and off for about an hour: it didn't really exactly
match any sparrow song on my iPod.

When I finally located the bird in a tree, it was a Field Sparrow! 

I watched it sing a song that didn't really sound like a FISP: the song was
slower, the initial 4-5 notes were slurred, (barely ascending) and it ended
in a dry-ish trill.

Song Sparrows and Eastern Towhees are known to sing variant song dialects,
but I have never heard this reported in a Field Sparrow. 

Has anyone else ever heard an atypical Field Sparrow song? Perhaps mine had
a song impediment...(poor thing won't ever attract a mate).

Felicia Lovelett
Sykesville, MD