| The Swamp Sparrow is a plump little guy with an unstreaked gray underparts, a bright rufous cap, and rust colored wings. It does have a whitish throat but can be separated from the White-throated Sparrow which has a white crown as well as a whiter throat and lacks the rust-color on the wings.
The breeding habitat consists of freshwater swamps and open wooded swamps of most of southern Canada and the northeastern quadrant of the United States. The winter ranges is over the the eastern part of the United States below the Great Lakes region.
A clutch consists of 4 to 5 blue-green eggs, with brown blotches, laid in a bulky cup of grass cup built by the female and hidden among the cattails and other dense marsh vegitation. The eggs are incubated by the female and hatch within 12 to 15 days. The young are cared for by both parents and fledge the nest 10 to 13 days later. It is a rare host to the Brown-headed Cowbird as nests in marshes tend to be avoided by the parasite.
Foraging along the ground the diet consists of beetles, crickets, grasshoppers as well as sedge, weed and grass seeds.
Length: 5 3/4 inches
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