Foxes, except for Fox news, are usually shy and not comfortable around people, but being bashful is really apparent in the Fox sparrow. There are, however, a couple of ways he really shows off, and one is his scientific name. The Fox sparrow is still confusing the ornithologists who can’t decide if the critter has a lot of subspecies or just different populations of the same bird. Around here in the Quoddy region we have Passerella iliaca with a subspecies iliaca. In Western Canada you may find P.i.altivagans; in the Rockies you might find P.i. schistacea or towards California P.i. stephensi or coastal P.i.fuliginosa or P.i.megarhyncha or up towards Alaska P.i.unalaschcensis. Carrying names like that it is no wonder the poor bird is shy and retiring. After a bunch of DNA tests and a lot of meetings and discussions by scientists, Fox sparrows may or may not be split into four separate species and/ or lumped into a different genus. The other noticeable characteristic of Fox sparrows is their foraging method. Sibley describes it as” …In one abrupt sequence, while the body remains relatively stationary, a slight hop allows both feet to reach far forward then quickly sweep backward, kicking out debris from underneath the bird to reveal any food items…”. Sounds like some break dancing maneuver to me. If I was a bird I would learn the less ostentatious barnyard chicken scratching method. That goes better with my handwriting.
The Fox sparrow is the largest of our sparrows at about seven inches overall length. It is unique to North America, and our version has a handsome rufous tail and its upper parts are also reddish (hence the name ‘fox’) with a gray wash.
The Fox sparrow is the largest of our sparrows at about seven inches overall length. It is unique to North America, and our version has a handsome rufous tail and its upper parts are also reddish (hence the name ‘fox’) with a gray wash. Its breast is white, but with heavy rufous streaks, more so than any other sparrow, and its legs are a dull pink. The beak of our (eastern) version is yellowish brown and built to handle small and medium sized tidbits like weed, grass, blueberry and elderberry seeds and sometimes insects and spiders, but a western variety P.i.megarhyncha has evolved a gray colored massive bill that can scrunch some pretty rugged seeds. All variations of the Fox sparrow feed on the ground, and make a considerable ruckus in their search for food especially kicking around in dry leaves. One would suspect that they would risk attracting predators like weasels and feral cats, but they must be relatively cautious because their numbers appear to be stable.
Alas, the Fox sparrow in the Quoddy region is just a transient. They come through here in early March and visit a bit then head up to their breeding grounds from New Brunswick to Alaska. They generally overwinter in the Southern US. E.H. Forbush wrote that he had a couple of Fox sparrows at his bird feeders overwinter in Massachusetts in the hard winter of 1903-1904. Ever the scientist, he recorded one eating 103 seeds in 2 minutes and 47 seconds. Usually Fox sparrows overwinter along the Gulf coast but a ways inland from the shore, and they seemed to have learned to do this even before oil drilling was common in the Gulf. From there they make a silent journey primarily to Canada to raise a new generation, and I’ve been sort of jealous of the Canadians that I’ve never heard a Fox sparrow sing. In “Birds of Canada” Taverner writes “…This sparrow remains within the limits of civilization only for a few days in spring and autumn. Occasionally in spring it greets us with a song of full clear tone that is equaled by few other birds and rarely surpassed.” I guess I feel better.
