Fox Sparrow

Fox Sparrow, red form

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Sound
4. Range
5. Conservation Status
6. Other Names

A large, boldly striped sparrow of scrubby boreal forest and mountain chaparral, the Fox Sparrow is most familiar as a migrant or wintering bird. Its vigorous "double-scratching," kicking backward in ground litter with both feet to uncover food, often draws attention to its presence under a bird feeder.

Cool Facts

• The Fox Sparrow comes in four different forms, sometimes considered separate species. The red or eastern form has reddish streaks on chest and back, a rufous cap, and a gray face. It breeds across the boreal forest and winters in the southeastern United States. The sooty form is dark brown all over. It breeds along the Pacific Coast from the Olympic Peninsula northward to the Aleutian Islands, and winters from Alaska to California. The slate-colored form has a gray back and reddish wings, as well as a longer, reddish tail. It breeds from central British Columbia to Nevada and Colorado, and winters in the arid Southwest. The large-billed form has a gray back, reddish wings and tail, and a very thick bill. It breeds from central Oregon southward through California, and winters in California.

Description

• Large sparrow, small songbird.
• Heavily streaked chest.
• Rusty tail.
• Messy spot in center of chest.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Immature similar to adult.

Sound

Song a series of clear musical notes and sliding whistles.

Range

Range Map

© 2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Breeds across Alaska and British Columbia, eastward to New Brunswick and Newfoundland, southward in western mountains to Colorado and central California. Also in Chaparral along Pacific Coast southward to Baja California.

Winter Range

Winters in middle and southern United States from southern Minnesota to Massachusetts, southward to northern Florida and southern Arizona. Also along Pacific Coast from southern Alaska to Baja California.

Conservation Status

Populations appear stable.

Other Names

Bruant fauve (French)
Chingolo zorruno (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Weckstein, J. D., D. E. Kroodsma, and R. C. Faucett. 2002. Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca). In The Birds of North America, No. 715 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.