Day 42: Fox Sparrow

It's a cold and blustery night here in Bethesda. Jared and I were out trying to bird earlier and got caught in a "snow squall" (as our favorite weather guys at the Capital Weather Gang called it) that was an odd mix between snow chunks and rain.

Our bird of the day is the Fox Sparrow! Fox Sparrows are large, shy sparrows that are fairly common in Maryland. They can be found throughout much of the eastern U.S. in the winter and breed farther north in Canada and Alaska.

Fox Sparrows are one of North America’s most geographically variable birds, with 18 subspecies divided into 4 distinct groups. The group most commonly seen in the eastern U.S. is the Red Fox Sparrow.

Adult Fox Sparrows have a grey head and heavy reddish brown spotting on their back and breast.

On our trips, we have often spotted Fox Sparrows, but it has taken some work to get them to come out into the open for us to take a photo. Occasionally, one would respond to Jared's calls, and I could sneak in a few shots.