Fox Sparrow by Barry Van Dusen

The seven-inch Fox Sparrow, Passerella iliaca, is a bird of passage, though a few overwinter in Massachusetts. Aside from the Eastern Towhee, it is the largest sparrow. Nesting continent-wide in boreal regions, Fox Sparrows arrive in Massachusetts in mid to late October through early November. They winter sparingly in New England and principally winter from Pennsylvania through the southern states, from Texas east along the Gulf Coast. Fox Sparrows migrate north beginning in late March and early April. The species may be common to abundant during its migration or it may be just the opposite, almost absent. In any case, Fox Sparrows are generally uncommon during the winter months and absent during the summer.

Many species of sparrows congregate in flocks during the nonbreeding season, but some do not. Among these loners is the Fox Sparrow, though that may be due in part to overall decline of the species. Alexander Wilson reported observing flocks of 10 to 20 birds along the Connecticut River, but Wilson was observing birds when brushy habitat in New England was much greater. Fox Sparrows are not birds of grassy fields but rather birds of dense shrubby and brushy areas.