Red Fox Sparrow is the collective name for the most brightly colored taxa in the American sparrow

American sparrow

American sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....

 genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Passerella, the Passerella iliaca iliaca group.

Taxonomy

Pending wider-spread acceptance of species status, the Red Fox Sparrow is currently classified as a "subspecies group" within Fox Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

The Fox Sparrow is a large American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Passerella, although some authors split the genus into four species .-Taxonomy:...

s.

It has long been suspected to be a separate evolution

Evolution

Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...

ary lineage due to morphological

Morphology (biology)

In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

 distinctness, and this is confirmed by analysis of mtDNA sequence

DNA sequence

The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...

 and haplotype

Haplotype

A haplotype in genetics is a combination of alleles at adjacent locations on the chromosome that are transmitted together...

 data. This group appears to be most closely related to the Slate-colored Fox Sparrow

Slate-colored Fox Sparrow

The Slate-colored Fox Sparrow group comprises the Rocky Mountain taxa in the genus Passerella. It is currently classified as a "subspecies group"...

s, but it is altogether likely to represent the basal

Basal (phylogenetics)

In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...

most divergence of the fox sparrow clade

Clade

A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...

.

Description

The Red Fox Sparrow is a large sparrow with a length of 15–19 cm (6–7.5 inches), wingspan of 27 cm (10.5 inches) and an average weight of 32 grams (1.1 oz). The head is gray with a rufus crown auriculars or ear coverts. Throat is white with a rufus lateral stripe on each side. The lower bill is yellow while the top transitions from yellow at the bottom to black at the top. The breast has reddish brown streaks with a messy central spot. The streaks continue down the flanks but the belly is generally white. The combination of distinct rufus and gray streaks on the back with a gray rump is diagnostic. Sexes are morphologically similar.

Reproduction

Red Fox Sparrows breed in a wide band that stretches though mostly taiga

Taiga

Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...

 habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

, from Newfoundland to northern Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. Their preferred breeding habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

s are dense willow

Willow

Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

 and alder

Alder

Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...

 thickets as well as spruce

Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...

 and fir

Fir

Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...

 bogs.

Red Fox Sparrows may nest on the ground, or in shrubs and trees. They typically nest less than 2 metres off the ground. Clutch consists of 3–5 pale blue to pale green eggs that are thickly spotted with brown. Incubation lasts between 12 to 14 days. The eggs are mostly incubated by the female though both sexes feed the young. Young birds are altricial

Altricial

Altricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born...

 and fledge in 9 to 11 days.

Wintering & Migration

They winter in temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

 and subtropical North America; in the northern USA and southern Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 they often only stop over on their migration further south. The spring migration

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 starts around February, and by early May almost all birds have returned to the breeding grounds. In fall, they start to move south around early October, and by mid-November, only the last stragglers still remain up North.

Ranges and Geographical Variation

Geographic variation in the iliaca complex is minor compared to individual variation, both in morphology and molecular data samples. The western Yukon Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca zaboria) differs from the nominate subspecies, the Eastern Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca iliaca) only in having a grayer head and browner malar stripe on average. The morphological distinction between the subspecies is not pronounced and the birds are not resident all year; therefore absolutely certain identification within the Red Fox Sparrow complex is never possible in the field.

However, the populations occupy different ranges, apparently—as far as they can be distinguished—with just a small band of overlap. The contact zone is roughly the area between the Nelson

Nelson River

The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its full length is , it has mean discharge of , and has a drainage basin of , of which is in the United States...

 and lower Churchill River

Churchill River (Hudson Bay)

The Churchill River is a major river in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada. From the head of the Churchill Lake it is 1,609 km long. It was named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and governor of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1685 to 1691...

s, Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, in summer. In winter, the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 and the US states of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 and Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 mark the approximate boundary between the subspecies' ranges. P. i. iliaca occurs from S Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 and Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 east to Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 and then along the coast north to southern Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

; it ranges south to the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 and N Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, whereas P. i. zaboria occurs from SE Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 to the Great Plains

Great Plains

The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...

, south to Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

and east to the zone of overlap mentioned above.