From Opus

Photo by JN Dell
South Georgia, USA, January 2007

Melospiza georgiana

[edit] Identification

5 ins (12-14cm)

• Streaked rusty and black upperparts
• Gray breast
• Light belly
• White throat
• Solid rust-colored cap (with pale central stripe in winter)

Juvenile
Photo by stephennj
New Jersey, USA, October 2004

• Rusty wings
• Gray face
• Dark line through the eye
• Short bill
• Fairly long legs

[edit] Distribution

Central Canada, North and Central America
Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Yukon
United States of America: New England, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming
Central America: Mexico and Baja California

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

There are 3 subspecies:

• M. g. ericrypta:

• Eastern and central Canada; winters to southern US and north-eastern Mexico

• M. g. georgiana:

• North Dakota to Nova Scotia and north-eastern US; winters to southern Texas and Florida

• M. g. nigrescens:

• Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Maryland

[edit] Habitat

Swamps, marshes, damp fields, bogs, floodplains, salt marshes.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

It builds a bulky nest with leaves arching over the top, which is attached to marsh vegetation.

[edit] Diet

The diet includes insects and seeds.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

[edit] External Links