THE FOX SPARROW 



(Passerella iliaca,} 



The Fox Sparrow is one of our most 

 interesting and engaging birds and sings 

 a most fascinating song. It has an ex 

 tensive range covering eastern North 

 America from the Arctic coast, south 

 to the Gulf States, and westward to the 

 Great Plains and Alaska. It breeds, 

 however, only north of the United 

 States and winters chiefly south of Vir 

 ginia and Illinois. For this reason this 

 species is only known in the northern 

 United States as an early spring and 

 rather late fall migrant. During this 

 period of journeying from its winter 

 home to its summer nesting home in the 

 spring, and its return in the fall, its 

 wonderful song is not often heard. At 

 these seasons, these Sparrows are very 

 quiet, uttering occasionally a soft call 

 note. While with us, the Fox Sparrows 

 usually frequent moist woods and the 

 edges of thickets. They are usually in 

 small flocks, and though they may be 

 in the neighborhood of other sparrows 

 they do not mingle with them. While 

 they seldom stray far from thickets they 

 do frequent hedgerows and weedy grain- 

 fields. Frequently they search for their 

 food upon the ground, scratching among 

 the dead leaves and other debris in a 

 manner fully equal to our ordinary do 

 mestic fowls, though they are much 

 smaller birds. 



In the spring the male Fox Sparrows 

 become very musical and fortunate in 

 deed are those whose pleasure it is to 

 hear their song. Dr. Brewer has said: 

 "His voice is loud, clear, and melodious ; 

 his notes full, rich, and varied ; and his 

 song is unequalled by any of this famiily 

 that I have ever heard." Mr. Eugene 

 P. Bicknell writes most glowingly of 

 the song. He says : "Its song is not sur 

 passed by that of any of our Sparrows. 

 It is a revelation to hear it at sundown 

 on some vernally softened evening of 

 early springtime ; little swarms of gnats 

 hover in the balmy air; from the twi 

 light meadows comes the welcome, half- 

 doubtful piping of the first hylas no 

 other sound. Then perhaps from some 

 dusky thicket a bird's song! An emo 



tional outburst rising full-toned ' and 

 clear, and passing all too quickly to a 

 closing cadence, which seems to linger 

 in the silent air. It is the song of the 

 Fox Sparrow with that fuller power and 

 richness of tone which come to it, or 

 seem to, at the sunset hour. It breaks 

 forth as if inspired from pure joy in 

 the awakened season, though with some 

 vague undertone, scarcely of sadness, 

 rather of some lower tone of joy." Mr. 

 Maynard, who heard the Fox Sparrows 

 sing on the Magdalen Island, says of this 

 magnificent melody: "These fine strains 

 consist at first of three clear, rather 

 rapid notes given with increasing em 

 phasis, then a short pause ensues, and 

 the remainder of the lay is poured forth 

 more deliberately, terminating with a 

 well rounded note, giving a finish to a 

 song which for sweetness and clearness 

 of tone is seldom surpassed even by our 

 best performers." Mr. T. C. Smith, who 

 has made a careful study of this bird's 

 song, says : "The voice of the Fox Spar 

 row in its full power is clear, sustained, 

 and rendered rich by overtones. It has 

 not, of course, the metallic, vibrant ring 

 of the thrushes or the bobolink, it is 

 rather the sparrow or finch voice at its 

 best, a whistle full of sweetness with 

 continual accompanying changes of tim 

 bre." 



The Fox Sparrows build their nests 

 either on the ground or in trees or 

 bushes. When built upon the ground 

 the site selected for the nest is usually 

 well concealed by the low branches of 

 trees and tall grass. The nests which 

 are usually large for the size of the birds 

 aVe constructed with loosely woven dry 

 grasses, animal hairs, and moss which 

 forms the outer wall. In some localities 

 there is placed inside of the outer wall 

 of the nest a second layer of finer grass 

 and moss. The lining or bed consists 

 of hair and the feathers of various spec 

 ies of water-fowls. In one nest, Mr. 

 Audubon found the down of the eider 

 duck. The Fox Sparrows often nest 

 in colonies. 



