THE FOX SPARROW 

 Finch Family — Fringillidce 



Length: A little over 7 inches; about an inch longer than the 

 English sparrow, and nearly as large as a hermit 

 thrush. 



Male and Female: Upper parts reddish-brown, brightest on 

 lower back and tail. (The red-brown tail is a dis- 

 tinguishing mark of the fox sparrow as it is of the 

 hermit thrush.) Under parts grayish- white; throat, 

 breast, belly, and sides heavily and irregularly 

 streaked with reddish-brown and black, except the 

 middle of the belly, which is white. 



Note: A faint seep or cheep. 



Song: The most beautiful of all the sparrows' — a burst of 

 melody possessing sweetness and power; joyous, yet 

 with a minor strain. 



Habitat: Tall thickets or clumps of weeds. 



Range: North America. Breeds in the forest-regions of Can- 

 ada and Alaska; winters from the lower Ohio and 

 Potomac Valleys to central Texas and northern 

 Florida. 



NEVER shall I forget the thrill of surprise and ec- 

 stasy which my first fox sparrow brought to me! 

 My sister and I were on eager quest for early migrants 

 in open woods and overgrown pastures, when from a 

 thicket of tall shrubs there burst so marvelous a "concord 

 of sweet sounds" that we were spell-bound. No words 

 can describe the tenderness, the joyous abandon, yet withal 

 the strain of sadness in the song, as though the choristers 

 had drunk deep of life, had visioned clearly its secrets, 



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