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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Swamp Sparrow

Melospiza georgiana

• epic
• 72 km/h
• Least Concern

Lives ankle-deep in cattails and never seems to mind. Delivers messages with wet feet.

Population

~23 million mature individuals, increasing (~1.1%/year, 1970–2017 per Partners in Flight data)

Habitat

Wetlands with standing water — boreal bogs, sedge/cattail marshes, beaver ponds, fens, wet brushy meadows, and (in coastal subspecies) brackish/salt marshes; rarely found away from water even on migration

Fun fact

The oldest known Swamp Sparrow on record was at least 7 years and 10 months old, identified through a USGS Bird Banding Lab recovery in Maryland.

Range

Breeds across boreal Canada and the northern/northeastern USA; winters in the eastern and southeastern USA, with smaller numbers reaching Mexico and the Caribbean

Diet

Mainly arthropods (insects, spiders) during the breeding season; shifts to seeds and fruit in winter

Size

0.135 m

Wingspan

0.185 m

Lifespan

7.8 years