Sunday, April 19, 2009

Fox Sparrow and White Crowned Sparrow

Yesterday as I was standing at my kitchen window I kept seeing this bird at the feeder and on the ground...Can you help me name this bird...you can click on the photo to enlarge it if need be
It has a very speckled breast and seems to have a hew of green to it.......

In reviewing my book "Birds of Coastal British Columbia" by Nancy Baron & Jon Acorn I think this bird might be a "Fox Sparrow" Based on it's antics and their Towhee relative(which there are a lot of here). The description they give is that the Fox Sparrow are larger and darker than the song sparrow and that they like to "scratch" out a living. How true...as the whole time I was observing this bird that is exactly what it did. As you can see by the photo I spotted it amongst dense vegetation which apparently is where they are mostly found. They describe the markings of the Fox Sparrow as having a heavily streaked breasts with inverted "v's" the tail is rusty and the lower mandible is yellowish....this description seems to fit this bird....but what do you think.


I believe this one to be a White-Crowned Sparrow. The White-crowned is a gray sparrow with brown back and wings, and a white and black striped crown. Again seems to fit. The bill is pink or yellowish. Immatures have rusty brown crown stripes. This one seems to fit the bill don't you think....and again it would be appropriate if there were to be seen with the Fox Sparrow and the Towhee......

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