Jamie et al:
You asked about how to tell subspecies apart. Looking at Song Sparrow
subspecies is something I haven’t done enough of but if I were to learn I would
want to look at specimens. The Slater Museum in Tacoma has lots. Doug Robinson,
how about at OSU?
Maybe some of the options below might help:
In lieu of that if you are a subscriber I bet Birds of North America online
would be a good option
(https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/sonspa/introduction ;
<https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/sonspa/introduction>).
There is even a Song Sparrow group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/489482811234717/ ;
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/489482811234717/>
Below is a visual map of West Coast subspecies published in the Condor in 2008:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-the-subspecies-of-Song-Sparrows-Melospiza-melodia-in-western-North-America-with_fig1_50914233
<https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-the-subspecies-of-Song-Sparrows-Melospiza-melodia-in-western-North-America-with_fig1_50914233>
And if you want to look into it more here is the citation for the article:
Pruett, Christin & Arcese, Peter & Chan, Yvonne & Wilson, Amy & Patten, Michael
& Keller, Lukas & Winker, Kevin. (2008). Concordant and Discordant Signals
Between Genetic Data and Described Subspecies of Pacific Coast Song Sparrows.
The Condor. 110. 10.1525/cond.2008.8475.
Shawneen Finnegan
Beaverton, OR
