Comprehensive Description
provided by Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
Melospiza georgiana (Latham)
To the data previously compiled (Friedmann, 1963:168) may be added 20 more records of parasitism on the swamp sparrow: 1 from near Chicago, Illinois, 3 from Wisconsin (Dana and Oconto counties), and 1 from New York (Monroe County), all in the collections of the Western Foundation; 1 from South Dakota in the Delaware Museum of Natural History, and 14 records from Ontario. The Ontario nest records show 18 parasitized nests out of 112 nests reported (of these, 4 were included in the earlier compilation). This is an incidence of 16.0 percent, a high frequency of parasitism. Harrison (1975:249) noted that the swamp sparrow was a “frequent” victim in marshy areas in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in spots where nearby red-winged blackbird nests were rarely affected by the cowbirds. It becomes obvious that the incidence of parasitism on this sparrow varies in different areas; in most places it is an uncommon host choice.
SONG SPARROW
- bibliographic citation
- Friedmann, Herbert, Kiff, Lloyd F., and Rothstein, Stephen I. 1977. "A further contribution of knowledge of the host relations of the parasitic cowbirds." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 1-75. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.235
