'Eastern' Song Sparrow (ssp. melodia)

Today I found this beautiful ‘Eastern’ Song Sparrow (ssp. melodia) at the end of McMillan Rd near the beach in Parksville BC, 3/25/19. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before! So striking!! He was very hard to locate and would skulk around, feeding in the tall grasses. The size was a lot smaller then I was expecting for an eastern, especially when compared to the 2 'morphna' SOSPs near him. The dark markings on face and breast, limited streaking on the chest, pale malar and throat, white undertail coverts, and super distinct back stripes really make him stand out. Interestingly call was slightly different from our normal SOSPs, almost shorter and less nasally.