BIRDS OF NANTUCKET
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw

Fox Sparrow

FOXY Afew weeks ago we talked about the 'aristocrat' of sparrows, the White-crowned. This week we have most everyone's 'favorite' sparrow. Edith Andrews normally has at least one that winters at her feeder and she simply calls it 'Foxy.'

The common name is the Fox Sparrow, sonamed for its lovely, red fox-like coloration. Its Latin name was provided by the German zoologist, Blasius Merrem, in 1786 - Fringilla iliaca. This placed America's Fox Sparrow in with the European Chaffinch. The English naturalist William Swainson later realized the error and moved 'Foxy' into its own genus, Passerella, which translates to 'little sparrow' - a bit odd since this is our largest sparrow. Interestingly it is the only bird in this genus. That tells us that although called a 'sparrow,' it is quite a unique sparrow.

So you are thinking 'sparrow' and saying, here we go with another LBJ (Little Brown Job). But you do them quite a disservice by lumping them with the LBJs. As I said, this is a big sparrow. It not only measures longer, seven inches, but it's much more robust - a burly sparrow if you will. There's also the color impact - a very pleasing combination of reddish browns and whites, mainly white-streaked with rufous underneath and rufous and gray above. Humans can't distinguish Mr. from Mrs. Fox Sparrow without disassembling them. Once you see a Fox Sparrow, it's hard to confuse it with anything else. The tail can look quite reddish and when flying away, your first thought might be of another winter Nantucket bird, the Hermit Thrush. Unlike the Hermit, Foxy has a thick, yellow, finch bill.

Yes, all sparrows are finches, and as such, they are mainly seed eaters. They are happiest on the ground, under your feeders rather than on them. But the good news is that you can attract them into your yard, particularly if your yard is near a brushy, damp area.

As a new birder starting in the early '50s, I had to leave Nantucket before I saw my first Fox Sparrow. I remember living in Indian Orchard near Springfield, Mass., and being thrilled to have several in my backyard, scratching under a fir tree for dinner.

Fox Sparrows migrate a long distance, for sparrows. There is a large distance between their winter and summer homes. Like most songbirds, they are nighttime migrators. They nest across Canada from the Maritimes right into Alaska, with four major Fox Sparrow races getting darker and less 'foxy' looking as you go west. They nest so far north that they are mostly ground nesters. They love the bushy tundra habitat where they can both raise a family and feed and still stay under cover. Three to five eggs are laid and often Fox Sparrows manage to raise two broods a year despite the short season up north.

We expect to see them from early October until mid-April. Since our island is just at the northern edge of their wintering grounds, probably only the most Arctic nesting birds are here in mid-winter. The winter population has been quite stable over the 50-plus years of our Christmas Bird Counts, and we've found them on just over half of them.

They are a hardy species, digging quite vigorously using both feet together, a lot like an Eastern Towhee. For that reason they forage well in heavy leaves and also in snow as long as it doesn't become too deep or crusted. Over the years, warm spring weather has lured them northward only to be brought close to starvation by heavy and wet snowstorms. Such an event caused huge numbers of them to fly into Boston in April of 1922. The influx of these reddish birds, singing enthusiastically with mating fervor, made a huge impression on Bostonians that year. Roger Tory Peterson describes the Fox Sparrow song as 'brilliant and musical.' We don't often hear them singing on Nantucket but I remember one late winter walk in northern Georgia where several of them were teed up and singing their heads off. It was a joyous and reassuring sound to hear coming from the still drab landscape.

Fox Sparrows have been known to live ten years. That's ten cycles back and forth from the far north a thousand miles to their winter homes. They tend to head for the same thicket every year. Nantucket's changing landscape with development and gentrification certainly challenge migrating winter residents like these. Foxy hasn't arrived in Mrs. Andrews' yard yet,

but the yard is waiting, unchanged. I

George C. West creates illustrations for these articles. If you enjoy 'social' birding, join the Nantucket Bird Club at 8 a.m. Sundays in front of Nantucket High School for a two to three hour birding trip. Call 228-1693 for more information.

To hear about rare birds, or to leave a bird report call the Massachusetts Audubon hot line at 1-781-259-8805. Ask Ken a question at: kenandcindy1@comcast.net.