Subspecies morphna of the coastal Pacific Northwest is a dark rusty Song Sparrow with grayish underparts and broad blurry rusty streaking to back and underparts. The wings and tail are very rusty, and the facial pattern is gray with rusty stripes (including the malar). As the underpart streaks are not crisp and the background color is grayish, the entire bird looks dark, richly rusty, and blurry. The subspecies is mostly resident; three photos from within its usual range are shown above.

Some portion of the population moves south in winter (perhaps the northernmost birds?) into northern coastal California. These migrants occur in very small numbers south to the S.F. Bay area and to Monterey Bay. The photos below illustrate individuals in winter in Contra Costa and Santa Cruz Co. There is a specimen labeled morphna, taken 15 Mar 1920 Carmel (#CAS).

1 Apr 2011 west of Othello, Grant Co., Washington (southwest of Spokane) © Dennis Paulson

Subspecies merrilli breeds in the inter-mountain valleys of British Columbia south to eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Arcese et al. (2002) describe it as "similar to morphna but paler, grayer, with more well-defined, contrasting streaks." Patten & Pruett (2009) call it "intermediate between morphna and montana." The two photos above are from different parts of its range in eastern Washington, and there are obvious differences between them, with the upper bird more like morphna but having decidedly crisper and darker brown streaks below, while the second bird is much whiter below than morphna, and more like montana in that character.

It is partly migratory, with birds reaching southern California. It may be more migratory and more common in California in winter than previously thought, with a good number of specimens both coastal and inland throughout northern California (P. Pyle, pers. com.). The photos below, likely of the same individual at Carmel R. mouth, were tentatively identified as merrilli by Michael Patten and Peter Pyle. If so, it would seem to be from the more eastern part of the range — more like montana than morphna — because the underparts of white and the streaking (above and below) more blackish, but still more heavily streaked below than montana. Alternatively, it could be an example of something from an intergrade zone, such as between a 'fisherella'-type montana [more on that below] and northernmost heermanni. Whatever its origins may be, it a migrant to coastal MTY from some breeding population far north of here.

Subspecies melodia is the 'eastern' Song Sparrow, but like many 'eastern' warblers, it ranges well west in Canada to Alberta and could occur in California as a vagrant. It is a pale brown and white sparrow with chestnut streaking above and below (much reduced streaking below compared to most CA subspecies), and generally recalls a dull version of montana. The upperparts are medium-brown, edged buff (rather than gray, per Patten & Pruett 2009, but note a gray nape). To my eye these two photos from its summer breeding grounds (Ontario, Connecticut) show much less red in the wings and tail than our western birds, and perhaps it could be identified on the comparatively plainness of plumage (no doubt photo confirmation would be necessary).

Like many 'eastern' warblers, its normal migration route is towards the southeast, and sparrows from this nominate population winter in the southeastern U.S. from Texas to Florida. However, like 'eastern' warblers, fall vagrants could fly a 'mirror-image' of their route, head SW instead of SE, and end up in California. There are as yet no records for the Monterey Bay region, but I understand that vagrants have reached California, so the possibility should be on our radar.