Fox Sparrow Sparrows and their Brethren

Beginning in March and continuing into May and again in September, continuing through November, large masses of ‘little brown birds’ are migrating. These little brown birds provide a spectacle unrivaled in the bird kingdom but often go unnoticed by those who look skyward for more ostentatious members of the feathered tribes.

I once had a bear hunter ask me what kind of birds are those that congregate around his bait. I asked for a description of which he replied; “little brown birds.” My reply was that there are hundreds of pages in any bird field guide of “little brown birds.” It seems that the white hunter culture in this country find it beneath their dignity to know these ‘little brown birds.’ As an avid hunter myself, I feel like Aldo Leopold, that being familiar with all life forms, from micro-organisms in the soil to the birds in the lofty canopies is a source of inspiration, wonder, and education concerning the creatures that teach me the ways of the real world - the foundation of all that supports life.

The great Crow Warrior and Chief, Plenty-Coups, in his vision quest did not see the Grizzly, Wolverine, or Wolf as his life guide, the Chickadee became his “spirit guide.” The Chickadee was his guide for the fact that if such a small, seemingly insignificant bird can survive and flourish amongst all the more imposing creatures of its world, then it must have supreme intelligence and survival abilities. As a hunter, I find it short-sighted and ignorant to see just ‘game animals’ as having any value in nature. If a great Crow Warrior can emulate the tiny Chickadee, I see no effeminate characteristics in doing the same. Having the ability to recognize the value in nongame species makes the natural world interesting twelve months a year.

My woods is a stopping over area for Juncos, Tree Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, White-Throated Sparrows, White-Crowned Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Harris Sparrows, and more. Some stay and breed but most are on their way further north but not before spending several weeks or more fattening up on seeds and other vegetation on the ground or the millet and cracked corn I spread around my yard. All the sparrow species I find of interest but the one that I most enjoy is the Fox Sparrow.

The Fox Sparrow is one of the larger sparrows. He has a reddish fox colored tail, rump, and back contrasts with his white breast that is spectacled with spots and is highlighted with a large central breast spot. The Fox Sparrow does not stick around but proceeds on to the far north. His melodious song is infrequently heard here as it is saved till he arrives on his breeding ground. He aggressively scratches the ground, like a little chicken, for seeds and other vegetation. When walking through the woods this time of the year, the ground will look like someone went through the country with a small de-thatcher. This is from the vigorous scratching by thousands of Fox Sparrows. Mr. Fox Sparrow is the most territorial and aggressive of all the sparrows. Watch some for just a brief time and you will recognize that each Fox Sparrow is within an invisible circle, which he defends against any trespassing Fox Sparrow. When a neighbor gets too close, they will both jump up and kick and scratch at one another like a pair of fighting cocks. If a Junco or another breed of sparrow crosses this line, Mr. Fox Sparrow does not become so confrontational.

The migration of the vast flocks of sparrows does not involve any singularity but comprises self contained moving ecosystems. A good example of this is the Sharp-Shinned Hawk – a smallish member of the accipiter group of raptors and often referred to as the “blue darter.” This little fierce hawk is a close associate of the migrating bands of sparrows, preying on them with impunity. Always, the Sharp-Shins are seen in greatest concentrations while following the vast numbers of Juncos and other sparrows. Many times I have been watching these flocks of sparrows through my binoculars, ground feeding, when a blur will be seen in my sight as this little hawk will fly off with a Junco or Fox Sparrow in his talons. During these times of migration, sparrows must be the primary source of prey for the ‘blue darter.’

Soon, all will move on and pair off, defending territory, breeding, raising their off spring, fattening themselves for another miracle of migration, and stopping over for a brief time so I can enjoy their lust for life. So good luck Fox Sparrow till we meet again this autumn.

“We need another and wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they moved finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.” …Henry Beston