230 



FOX SPARROW 



somewhat monotonous tweet-tweet-tweet, repeated 

 many times, all on one note, and sometimes run- 

 ning into a trill." (Chapman.) 



Fox Sparrow : Passerella iliaca. 



Head and shoulders mixed reddish brown and slate-gray ; cheeks, 

 wings, and tail warm reddish brown ; breast heavily marked 

 with rufous. Length, about 7j inches. 



GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. Breeds from the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, Magdalen Islands, and Manitoba to Alaska and the 

 Arctic Ocean ; winters from Virginia southward. 



Doctor Brewer discovered Fox Sparrows on the 

 grounds of the Capitol in Washington, in winter, 



and similar pleasures may 

 be in store for many 

 observant city dwellers. 

 The first sight of the 

 bird is surely a memora- 

 ble experience. What 

 with his large size, his 

 striking fox-colored back 

 and tail, together with 

 the remarkable combi- 

 nation of slate-gray and 

 fox on his head, he seems 

 a new, strange creature. 

 And when he sings, one's surprise and admiration 

 increase. His song is so loud, ringing, and liquid 

 that it puts him at once at the head of the musi- 

 cal Sparrow family. " It is a revelation to hear 

 it at sundown on some vernally softened evening 



FIG. 143. 

 Fox Sparrow. 



