Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 4.7–5.5 in
12–14 cm - Wingspan
- 7.1–7.5 in
18–19 cm - Weight
- 0.4–0.8 oz
11–24 g
Other Names
- Bruant des marais (French)
- Gorrión pantanero (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Swamp Sparrow has longer legs than other members of its genus; this adaptation allows it to wade in shallow water to forage.
- The Swamp Sparrow sometimes sticks its head under water to try to capture aquatic invertebrates.
Habitat
Marsh
Various wetlands, including freshwater and tidal marshes, bogs, meadows, and swamps.
Food
Insects
Seeds, fruits, and aquatic invertebrates.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 2–6 eggs
- Egg Description
- Bluish green with spots and blotches.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless with sparse dark brown down.
Nest Description
A bulky open cup of dry grasses, sedges, plant stalks, and leaves, lined with fine grass, plant fibers, and occasionally hair. Placed in dense cattails, grass, or shrubs; some on ground.
Nest Placement
Shrub
Behavior
Ground Forager
Feeds at water's edge, picking invertebrates from mud or surface of water.
Conservation
Least Concern
Populations appear to have held stable or increased slightly between the late 1960s and early 1990s. Long-term prospects will depend on wetland conservation.
Credits
- Mowbray, T. B. 1998. Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana). In The Birds of North America, No. 279 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.