Concord, Mass.
1907
April 9
(No 8)
side immediately after they had settled their little
dispute. They fought in three slightly different ways:
(1) by making a quick level dash at one another either
on foot or on wing and only just above the surface of the
ground; (2) by standing motionless for an instant, beak to 
beak, and then springing up into the air six to eight
inches apparently striking with bills and feet (but not at
all forcibly), like game cocks, just as they come together;
(3) by fluttering straight upward to a height of five
or six or even eight or ten feet, facing one another
all the while, their bills almost touching, but not so
far as I could see either thrusting or striking with
bill or feet. Whenever, at the close of any one of 
these encounters, one of the birds turned tail and fled
he was never pursued more than a yard or two and
often, as I have just said, he would at once resume
feeding within a few inches of his late antagonist.
Fox Sparrows fighting.
  Fox Sparrows often fan out their handsome tails
for an instant when engaged in fighting but at most
other times the tail is kept tightly closed. It is
sometimes depressed so that the tip just touches or
trails on the ground but as a rule it is carried at
an angle a little above the line of the back and
occasionally much higher than this with the tips of
the wings well below its base. The position at which
is held is frequently changed and it is often
flirted prettily up and down or sideways as the bird
hops about over the ground. On the whole, however,
the Fox Sparrow gesticulates with its tail rather
less than do most other birds.
How the Fox Sparrow carries its tail