Fox sparrow • Passerella iliaca
Fox sparrows photographed by Mike Yip (top left), Kim Wetten with the VIU Bird Banding Project (right), and Brian Starzomski.
|
Identification
This large sparrow is one of the more easily identifiable sparrow species, despite its highly variable colouring. Some key identifying characteristics are the reddish rear and tail, reddish wings, and the dark triangular splotches on the chest and flanks. These markings tend to merge into a larger central breast spot. Overall colouring is a rich chocolate to rusty brown, though some subspecies are duller or more grey in colour than others. The "sooty" subspecies found on the Central Coast is quite dark and richly coloured. Bill colour is not a useful identification characteristic for this species, as it can range from yellow to dark grey. Click here to view regional colouring differences.
The fox sparrow's song consists of 2-3 seconds of melodic whistles. The notes and quality of the song varies between regional subspecies as well. Western populations, including the sooty Pacific subspecies, sing three or four variations of their song. The sooty fox sparrows songs tend to be less rich than their more eastern and northern counterparts. Click here to listen to all fox sparrow songs and calls.
Habitat & Range
Fox sparrows inhabit the undergrowth of coniferous and mixed forests as well as areas of dense scrub. They are present year-round in select areas of the west coast of North America, including much of the BC coast. The summer breeding range of migratory fox sparrows stretches across much of northern and western Canada, Alaska, and the northwestern United States. These birds winter across much of the southern United States.
Find more information at the British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas here.
Similar Species
The song sparrow (Melospeiza melodia) can have similar colouring to the fox sparrow, but is smaller and its underparts are marked by streaks rather than blotches. Both species vary from region to region, but are most similar in the Central Coast and other coastal northwest areas. These species exhibit different behaviour as well: the fox sparrow spend much time scratching through leaf litter on the ground in search of food, whereas the song sparrow is more likely found fluttering around low vegetation. The savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) can have similar body colouring and streaking patterns, but can be identified by distinctive yellow or whitish-yellow patches in front of its eyes.
Intriguing Info
A 19th century naturalist once wrote the following about the fox sparrow's song: “at all hours of the day, in every kind of weather late into the brief summer, its voice rises among the evergreen woods filling the air with quivering, delicious melody, which at length dies softly, mingling with the soughing of the wind in the spruces, or drowned by the muffled roar of the surf beating against neighboring cliffs.”
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/9156-Passerella-iliaca
This large sparrow is one of the more easily identifiable sparrow species, despite its highly variable colouring. Some key identifying characteristics are the reddish rear and tail, reddish wings, and the dark triangular splotches on the chest and flanks. These markings tend to merge into a larger central breast spot. Overall colouring is a rich chocolate to rusty brown, though some subspecies are duller or more grey in colour than others. The "sooty" subspecies found on the Central Coast is quite dark and richly coloured. Bill colour is not a useful identification characteristic for this species, as it can range from yellow to dark grey. Click here to view regional colouring differences.
The fox sparrow's song consists of 2-3 seconds of melodic whistles. The notes and quality of the song varies between regional subspecies as well. Western populations, including the sooty Pacific subspecies, sing three or four variations of their song. The sooty fox sparrows songs tend to be less rich than their more eastern and northern counterparts. Click here to listen to all fox sparrow songs and calls.
Habitat & Range
Fox sparrows inhabit the undergrowth of coniferous and mixed forests as well as areas of dense scrub. They are present year-round in select areas of the west coast of North America, including much of the BC coast. The summer breeding range of migratory fox sparrows stretches across much of northern and western Canada, Alaska, and the northwestern United States. These birds winter across much of the southern United States.
Find more information at the British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas here.
Similar Species
The song sparrow (Melospeiza melodia) can have similar colouring to the fox sparrow, but is smaller and its underparts are marked by streaks rather than blotches. Both species vary from region to region, but are most similar in the Central Coast and other coastal northwest areas. These species exhibit different behaviour as well: the fox sparrow spend much time scratching through leaf litter on the ground in search of food, whereas the song sparrow is more likely found fluttering around low vegetation. The savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) can have similar body colouring and streaking patterns, but can be identified by distinctive yellow or whitish-yellow patches in front of its eyes.
Intriguing Info
A 19th century naturalist once wrote the following about the fox sparrow's song: “at all hours of the day, in every kind of weather late into the brief summer, its voice rises among the evergreen woods filling the air with quivering, delicious melody, which at length dies softly, mingling with the soughing of the wind in the spruces, or drowned by the muffled roar of the surf beating against neighboring cliffs.”
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/9156-Passerella-iliaca
References
Dunn, J. L. and Alderfer, J. (Eds.). (1999). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. (3rd Ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. Pp. 412-413.
Fox Sparrow. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online. Accessed 11/11/2013.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).
Dunn, J. L. and Alderfer, J. (Eds.). (1999). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. (3rd Ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. Pp. 412-413.
Fox Sparrow. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online. Accessed 11/11/2013.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).