The Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana nigrescens) is morphologically distinct, restricted to a narrowly-defined habitat type, and geographically isolated within the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. The breeding range has been considered to extend from the Nanticoke River in Maryland north to the Hudson River. We report a previously undocumented population near Warsaw, Virginia that extends the known range south and west into a region of the Chesapeake Bay with extensive tidal fresh and brackish marshes consistent with the habitat requirements of this form, but for which there has been no documented breeding. A broader investigation of occurrence within appropriate habitat seems warranted given the small global population size and uncertain status within the southern portion of its range.
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1 June 2008
Breeding Range Extension of the Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow
Bryan D. Watts,
Michael D. Wilson,
Fletcher M. Smith,
Barton J. Paxton,
J. Bill Williams
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The Wilson Journal of Ornithology
Vol. 120 • No. 2
June 2008
Vol. 120 • No. 2
June 2008