My favourite sparrow species...

                                                                                Photos by BarrytheBirder

FOX SPARROW

(Passerella iliaca)

There are 140 species of sparrows in the world.   35 of those sparrow species are to be found in North America.   My favourite North American species is the Fox Sparrow.   I think of the Fox Sparrow as the "red" sparrow, because of the reddish colouring of its feathers on its rump, tail, wings, and central breast.   It is one the four largest sparrows in North America (7"), along with the White-crowned, White-throated and Golden-crowned Sparrows.   It is not that common in my part of the world but I see two or three each year in my backyard or near my home in southern Ontario.   They are so easy to spot because of their foxy colour and large size.   Once seen, they are never forgotten.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder