7.0 inches long. The Fox Sparrow is a very large sparrow that has a conical bill with a dark upper and yellow lower mandible. It has a gray crown and nape. The gray back is streaked with rust. The rump and tail are rusty. There is also a rusty color on the brown cheeks. There is heavy rusty spotting and streaking below on the breast and flanks. Sometimes these form into a central spot. The wings are rusty.
The Fox Sparrow is a somewhat common migrant through the area. It may be seen from mid March through early May and again in late September through mid November.
There are various forms of the Fox Sparrow. The one that occurs in the Omaha area is the eastern form that is sometimes called the Red Fox Sparrow. It winters in brushy patches or thickets within woodlands. The song is the most melodious of the sparrows as a low rich warbled “weet, weeto, teeo, tzee, tzer, zezer, reep”.
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