{"id":45954,"date":"2017-04-02T05:46:01","date_gmt":"2017-04-02T11:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=45954"},"modified":"2025-05-16T07:33:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T12:33:55","slug":"song-sparrow-in-box-elder-county-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/04\/02\/song-sparrow-in-box-elder-county-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Song Sparrow In Box Elder County, Utah – Bird Sounds of Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SpringSpring Song Sparrow – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

These two Song Sparrow photos were the best images I took yesterday while up in northern Utah mainly because it wasn’t very birdy but also because some of the birds I saw and identified were too far away. In the same area last week I had a great day finding birds that could be photographed but from one day to the next things can change.<\/p>\n

I was trying to photograph some Red-tailed Hawks when I heard a song close to me and realized it was a Song Sparrow before I even located the bird and put my lens on it. Sometimes my ears locate the birds before my eyes do and then I use my eyes to find them.<\/p>\n

This little beauty was perched on a barbed wire fence with spring grasses and sagebrush behind it in the distance.<\/p>\n

\"BoxBox Elder County Song Sparrow – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Song Sparrows are adaptable, abundant and extremely variable. There are 52 named subspecies and 24 of those subspecies are considered valid today which makes Song Sparrows one of the birds of North America with the most numerous subspecies.<\/p>\n

Both the common and scientific name for these sparrows suit them well because they both indicate that this species sings and they do sing a lot. The scientific name is\u00a0Melospiza melodia<\/i> and the melodia part is for melody. These sparrows are songsters that may have a repertoire with as many as twenty tunes and many variations of those tunes. Females rarely sing and when they do their songs are simpler than the males.<\/p>\n

Song Sparrow song<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

To my ears their winter songs sound just a bit different than the tunes they sing in spring when the males start to sing in their breeding territory to attract their mates. Maybe they are simply more exuberant in spring.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Sparrows ore often called Little Brown Birds (LBBs) or Little Brown Jobs (LBJs) because people have trouble identifying them and I readily admit I have misidentified a few over time as well but I have also gotten better at their ID by using my field guides and birding apps.<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Song Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was trying to photograph some Red-tailed Hawks when I heard a song close to me and realized it was a Song Sparrow before I even located the bird and put my lens on it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":144321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,204,26],"tags":[9555,5180,1894,4430,2304,4202,4104,5769,4023,5050,4926,855,4195,165,5422,7666],"class_list":["post-45954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-song-sparrows","category-utah","tag-abundant","tag-back-view","tag-barb-wire","tag-barbed-wire","tag-calls","tag-melospiza-melodia","tag-perched","tag-side-view","tag-song-sparrow","tag-songs","tag-sounds","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-spring","tag-subspecies","tag-variable"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/song-sparrow-barbed-wire-mia-mcpherson-2991.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bXc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":113359,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/10\/savannah-sparrow-in-side-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":45954,"position":0},"title":"Savannah Sparrow In Side Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The last time I went to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, I very much needed the peace, tranquility, and birds I found there, including this Savannah Sparrow.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring Savannah Sparrow in side light, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/savannah-sparrow-spring-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-1568.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/savannah-sparrow-spring-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-1568.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/savannah-sparrow-spring-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-1568.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/savannah-sparrow-spring-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-1568.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100780,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/15\/late-winter-savannah-sparrow-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":45954,"position":1},"title":"Late Winter Savannah Sparrow Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I was delighted to find a late winter Savannah Sparrow out in the open to photograph next to the road.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Late winter Savannah Sparrow perched on a fence, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/savannah-sparrow-late-winter-mia-mcpherson-1717.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/savannah-sparrow-late-winter-mia-mcpherson-1717.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/savannah-sparrow-late-winter-mia-mcpherson-1717.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/savannah-sparrow-late-winter-mia-mcpherson-1717.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":66310,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/03\/07\/song-sparrow-singing-on-the-marsh-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":45954,"position":2},"title":"Song Sparrow Singing On The Marsh At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I had nice morning light and angled my Jeep so the distant, snowy Promontory Mountains were in the background when I photographed this Song Sparrow singing.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Song Sparrow singing on the marsh, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-snowy-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6270.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-snowy-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6270.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-snowy-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6270.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-snowy-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6270.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48881,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/10\/11\/song-sparrows-out-in-the-open-and-partially-hidden-from-view\/","url_meta":{"origin":45954,"position":3},"title":"Song Sparrows – Out In The Open And Partially In View","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I can't pick a favorite between these two Song Sparrow photos because I find them both visually appealing and I don't feel a need or a desire to pick one over the other.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Song Sparrow peeking out of a greasewood, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-in-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-1862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-in-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-1862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-in-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-1862.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-in-greasewood-mia-mcpherson-1862.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100931,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/20\/world-sparrow-day-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":45954,"position":4},"title":"World Sparrow Day 2022","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Today is World Sparrow Day and since I love all of the sparrows on the planet I thought I'd share some of the sparrows I have photographed in North America.","rel":"","context":"In "American Tree Sparrows"","block_context":{"text":"American Tree Sparrows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/emberzine-sparrows-allies\/american-tree-sparrows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult White-crowned Sparrow in a hackberry tree, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":96759,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/10\/28\/fall-song-sparrow-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":45954,"position":5},"title":"Fall Song Sparrow Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this month I had an opportunity to take a few fall Song Sparrow photos while way up in Box Elder County in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Song Sparrow perched on rabbitbrush fluff, Box Elder County, 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