• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Justification of Red List category
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km² combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Population justification
The global population is inferred to number 130 million mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2019).

Trend justification
The species has been undergoing a moderate decline at an average rate of 0.7% per year between 1970 and 2017 (Partners in Flight 2019). Short-term trends suggest that the population in North America has declined by 11% over the past ten years (Pardieck et al. 2018). Trends vary geographically though, with populations in the southern part of the range declining and populations in the western and northern part increasing (Meehan et al. 2018).

Melospiza melodia occurs throughout southern Canada and the U.S.A., and in parts of Mexico (del Hoyo et al. 2011). The subspecies graminea of California's Santa Barbara Island went extinct in the 1960s (Fuller 2000).

Text account compilers
Hermes, C.

Contributors
Butchart, S., Ekstrom, J. & Khwaja, N.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/song-sparrow-melospiza-melodia on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.