Fox Sparrow

Fox Sparrows Visiting Feeders Now

Fox Sparrow

There are several reports this week (in mid-November) of Fox Sparrows (Passerella iliaca) visiting feeders around the province.  We have had one yesterday and today feeding on the ground with Dark-eyed Juncos and a White-throated Sparrow.

The Fox Sparrow is our largest sparrow.  It is a startling reddish-brown colour and shows a rounded head and medium-length tail.  It often shows some gray on its face.  The breast is white but heavily streaked and spotted with reddish brown, in triangles which converge and coalesce to a central breast spot.  It has a large  bill which it uses to feed on seeds.  Being a ground feeder it can be seen scratching with both feet sending a steam of turf and soil out behind.  It feeds on seeds, fruits, berries, insects, spiders, millipedes and small snails.  

Fox Sparrow

The Fox Sparrow is a complex species.  Ornithologists have described four races; the Sooty in the Pacific, the Thick-billed in California, the Slate-colored of the Interior West and the Red (Taiga) of  the east.  We see the Red (Taiga) race here.  This race summers and breeds in Newfoundland westward through northern Quebec, across the northern prairie provinces and through the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alaska.  It winters in the south-eastern US as far south as northern Florida.  Here we see it in migration as it passes through on its way north or south.  For some reason we seem to see more of them in the late fall.

Fox Sparrow

The Fox Sparrow builds its nest in dense willow and alder thickets or in forests along the coast.  The nest is built on or near the ground and is made of leaves, grass and moss.  In it are laid two to five greenish eggs with brownish spots.  Apparently the adults will perform a broken-wing display to lure predators away from the nest.

The only sparrow that could be confused with the Fox Sparrow here would be the Song Sparrow.  It is also very streaked with the streaks converging to a spot on the breast.  But, the Fox Sparrow is much larger, its streaks are much bolder and very reddish brown, its bill is larger and its tail is proportionately shorter.  If you are in doubt as to which species it is, it is probably a Song Sparrow.  The Fox Sparrow is so striking that when you see one, there is no doubt what it is.  Happy birding!