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Platte River Status: A common migrant, uncommon and local summer resident, and uncommon winter resident. Rosche (1979) found song sparrow only as a migrant and winter resident in the lower North Platte River Valley, present during 11 September to 15 April.

Breeding Range: Song sparrow is an uncommon and local nesting species in our area, restricted primarily to the Eastern Plain and Platte River Valley physiographic regions.

Breeding Population: The estimated breeding population in 1979-80 was 1,085 breeding pairs, which made up 0.03% of the total breeding bird population in the study area.

Habitat: We found song sparrows during the nesting season only in wetland vegetation where the mean breeding density was 5.2 pairs/km². Stewart (1975) reported song sparrow nesting in a wide range of natural and man-made habitat including wetlands, shrub thickets, shelterbelts and farmstead. Fannes (1982) found largest breeding densities in central North Dakota were in wooded prairie thickets.

Effect of Habitat Alteration: The demonstrated ability of song sparrow to exploit a wide range of natural and man-made habitats, along with the very low population levels in our study area, suggest that habitat alteration probably has not affected this species.

Nesting Data: We have no confirmed records of nests or eggs from the study area. Lingle found a singing male on the Rowe Sanctuary in Buffalo County (T. 8 N - R. 14 W) on 2 June 1988. North Dakota egg dates extend from 25 May to 11 July (Stewart 1975).