Fox Sparrow
Passerella iliaca

Fox Sparrows are North America’s largest sparrow. There are four different forms of this bird (“Red”, “Sooty”, “Slate-Colored”, and “Large-Billed”) and their range covers most of North America, north of Mexico. Some birds will winter in northern Baja California in Mexico. There is disagreement among scientists whether the four subspecies should be given full species status.
Breeding birds will migrate to the northern Rocky Mountains, the northern Sierra Nevada Range of California and Oregon, but most will travel as far north as British Columbia and Alaska, east to the Hudson Bay region and all the way to Labrador and Nova Scotia Canada.
Some authorities recognise up to 18 subspecies of Fox Sparrow. Other sources suggest the following short list:
- P. i. iliaca or Red Fox Sparrow, breeds in the taiga of Canada and Alaska. They spend winters in central and eastern North America.
- P. i. unalaschcensis or Sooty Fox Sparrow, breeds along the Pacific coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands south to Washington. They spend winters from southeastern Alaska south to Baja California (Mexico).
- P. i. schistacea or Slate-Colored Fox Sparrow, breeds in the interior of western North America. They spend winters south and west of their breeding range.
- P. i. megarhyncha or Thick-Billed Fox Sparrow lives in northern California and Oregon.
I first met the Fox Sparrow in southeastern Alaska in 2005. Later, in 2009, I met one of these birds at my home in Poway (California), but my most successful image gathering for this species came in October-2014 from the mountains in the back country of San Diego County (California). More recently, I met them at Bandon Marsh in Oregon.
14 Photos

Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Up-slope along Old Mine Road, to the Montezuma Mines near Ranchita, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:10:19 11:26 |
Location:
Old Mine Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/125 |
File Name: D3X0885-FoxSparrow |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Up-slope along Old Mine Road, to the Montezuma Mines near Ranchita, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:10:19 11:32 |
Location:
Old Mine Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/160 |
File Name: D3X0914-FoxSparrow |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Up-slope along Old Mine Road, to the Montezuma Mines near Ranchita, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:10:19 11:41 |
Location:
Old Mine Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/500 |
File Name: D3X0960-FoxSparrow |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Up-slope along Old Mine Road, to the Montezuma Mines near Ranchita, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:10:19 12:08 |
Location:
Old Mine Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/250 |
File Name: D3X1002-FoxSparrow |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Up-slope along Old Mine Road, to the Montezuma Mines near Ranchita, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:10:19 13:24 |
Location:
Old Mine Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: D3X1151-FoxSparrow |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Up-slope along Old Mine Road, to the Montezuma Mines near Ranchita, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:10:19 13:27 |
Location:
Old Mine Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: D3X1155-FoxSparrow |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Up-slope along Old Mine Road, to the Montezuma Mines near Ranchita, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:10:19 13:28 |
Location:
Old Mine Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X1158-FoxSparrow |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Fish Creek, near Hyder, in extreme southeastern Alaska. |
Date Taken: 2005:07:20 9:50 |
Location:
Fish Creek |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/6.3, 1/40 |
File Name: JCD9725FoxSparrow |
© 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: (Passerella iliaca) A bird in my yard in Poway. San Diego County, California USA 2002-11-23. |
Date Taken: 2009:02:20 22:59 |
Location:
Poway Grove Park |
Camera Information: |
File Name: A2k23A15-FoxSparrow |
© 2009 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Up-slope along Old Mine Road, to the Montezuma Mines near Ranchita, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:10:19 11:27 |
Location:
Old Mine Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/250 |
File Name: D3X0887-FoxSparrow |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: Up-slope along Old Mine Road, to the Montezuma Mines near Ranchita, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:10:19 11:31 |
Location:
Old Mine Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/160 |
File Name: D3X0908-FoxSparrow |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: At Bandon Marsh, this Fox Sparrow and its mate were in the company of Golden-Crowned and Song Sparrows. |
Date Taken: 2022:03:27 14:03 |
Location:
Bandon Marsh |
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/800 |
File Name: FoxSparrow_8507845-BandonMarsh |
© 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: At Bandon Marsh, this Fox Sparrow and its mate were in the company of Golden-Crowned and Song Sparrows. |
Date Taken: 2022:03:27 14:03 |
Location:
Bandon Marsh |
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/800 |
File Name: FoxSparrow_8507836-BandonMarsh |
© 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca) |
Description: At Bandon Marsh, this Fox Sparrow and its mate were in the company of Golden-Crowned and Song Sparrows. |
Date Taken: 2022:03:27 13:58 |
Location:
Bandon Marsh |
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/800 |
File Name: FoxSparrow_8507795-BandonMarsh |
© 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

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