Colonel Samuel Smith Park
Toronto, ON
12 November 2014
Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca is a large sparrow, presenting many different colour variations across the continent, from dark chocolate brown to the red morph found in central and eastern Canada.
It breeds across the arctic tundra and migrates south to spend the winter here, although many birds move even farther south into the United States.
Never an easy bird to photograph, it is often concealed in scrubby undergrowth, usually near water. This individual was in fact close to water, but was feeding adjacent to the path with a couple of White-throated Sparrows. It gave me but a couple of minutes, but in that time I was able to capture these images.
I consider myself fortunate to have been able to photograph this large, exceedingly handsome sparrow.
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