Fox Sparrow    Passerella iliaca

Migratory Status: Short-distance migrant

PIF Population Estimate: 16 000 000

Percent of western hemisphere population breeding in boreal forest: 48%

BAM Effective Detection Radius (m) : 126.18

PIF Maximum Detection Distance (m) : 200

Canadian BBS Population trend: -0.3 n.s. (-6.4 to -2.1)

Life History

The morphology and ecology of the Fox Sparrow is extremely variable across North America, with some 18 known subspecies, representing 3 or 4 distinct subspecies groups. The boreal forest region of North American hosts the most widespread of these groups, referred to as the Red (Taiga) Fox Sparrow, or iliaca subspecies. The following information relates specifically to the ecology of this subspecies.

The Fox Sparrow is one of the largest and heaviest sparrows in North America. The Red Fox Sparrow is perhaps one of the most striking of all the subspecies, with a mottled appearance consisting of alternating patterns of bright rufous and gray.

The breeding range of the Red Fox Sparrow extends over most of the boreal forest, from western and northern Alaska, south to central Alberta and east to Newfoundland and Labrador. The wintering range includes most areas east of the Great Plains, and generally south of the Great Lakes.

Reference(s)

Weckstein, J. D., D. E. Kroodsma, and R. C. Faucett. 2002. Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), The Birds of North America Online, . A. Poole, Ed. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Fox_Sparrow/.