Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-03-01
This and That
By Charles E. Tracepeu.

Fox sparrows flew into Chevy Chase,
Md. on February 81
They were seen by an observer on East
Blackthorn street.
These fine birds usually arrive here
somewhat later, sometime between
March and April g. They have been
seen, however, as late as May.
A few of them winter in this vicinity,
but in the main these birds are migrant.
They are regarded as the handsomest
of sparrows, of which they are I'M
douotedly the largest
The upper parts are gray, streaked
with chestnut; the underparts gray.
spotted with the same rich brown. The
bill is large and conical.
The gray phases of this bird are not
as distinctive as the brown, and it is as
taWny, foxy color that we think of it.
Certainly when 1t arrives here, SO
near to spring, it fairly CLOVIS with the
rich coloring, which sets it apart from
Its more humble cousins. the English
and song Sparrows.
The fox sparrowS seem most appro-
priately named. Common names include
foxy finch, fox-tail, and fox-colored
sparrow. 1t may be realized that the
resemblance to fox in its spring dress
is very marked
Gray birds with the foxes are prob
ably some in the gray stages which
have not yet got their spring dress COM
pletely.
This is big bird, for sparrow, being
full 612 inches long.
The distinctive sign of this bird is its
habit of scratching for it's dinner in
leaves, beneath shrubs, etc. Other
scratching birds are towhees, brown
thraShers, song sparrows white throated
Sparrows. (The white-throat is a very
conservative scratcher.)
Both feet make the leaves fly, so that
ii you see a colorful chestnut colored
bird scratching in really comicaI man.
ner you may feel sure it is fox sparrow.
Once you have made his acquaintance,
you never forget him, and look forward
to his visit each year.
He Is one Of the boldest of all He does
not hide in shrubbery, as English SPAR
rows do, when disturbed, but flies to
shrub and perches there in plain sight
This is too early to hear the song-for
this is, after all, Canadian bird-but
little later small f1ocks will burst into
melody, as they visit us, and then the
bird lover will hear a song consisting
of descending intervals, slurred together,
almost as the warblers do
This song is beautiful and distinctive
Some critics have compared it with that
of the vesper sparrow, giving the palm
to the fox sparrow.
When the bird is scratching in leaves,
in fyrrr 1,n fe
other crawlers. This makes him a most
excellent species to have around, since
some of these insects will crawl indoors,
If not stopped.
AS large as foxie will seem to the
interested observer, he probably does
( not weigh two ounces. Birds are mostly
feathers and air.
A tree sparrow weighs seven-tenths
Of en- ounce!
Even large towhee. will not weigh
more than one and half ounces.
On his way to Canada, the fox SPAR
row stops over, as it were, and that is
when we see him, both coming and going.
The fall session here is from about the
middle of October to the end of Novem-
ber
There is no use trying to put out any
1ood Tor this one. He will find what he
wants by his scratching Let him alone,
and enjoy him while he is here Usually
there will not be more than half dozen
in flock
His food consists of both animal and
vegetable matter, with some fruit, but
he is never menace to the latter, be-
ing on the whole a beneficial bird, as he
Is both colorful and interesting one