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Tom Grey | all galleries >> North American Birds by Type >> Songbirds >> Sparrows >> Fox Sparrows > Fox Sparrow, Sooty or Slate-colored
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15-MAR-2015 Tom Grey

Fox Sparrow, Sooty or Slate-colored

Lake Merced, San Francisco

This Fox Sparrow shows features of the Slate-colored type, altivagans subspecies. See Don Roberson's illustrated online discussion of the Fox Sparrow and the four groups which are candidates for recognition as separate species, http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/MTYbirdsFOSP2.html, and also the discussion and painting in Rising and Beadle, The Sparrows of the United States and Canada. Heavy dark spotting on the breast, similar to Sooty Fox Sparrow, but with more red in the wings and tail and more gray on the head than usual in birds of that type. A typical altivagans would have an all-gray head, rather than the rufous crown shown by this bird.

Canon EOS-1D X ,Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM
1/640s f/10.0 at 700.0mm iso3200 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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