Tweeters,

I (and eight other birders) saw a non-"Sooty" Fox Sparrow at Pt. No Pt.
yesterday. This bird was loosely associated with a flock of about ten
Golden-crowned Sparrows, a typical dark wintering "Sooty" Fox Sparrow, and a
couple of towhees. These birds were feeding along the path that runs east
from the lighthouse through the rose and other brush, just about thirty feet
from the driftwood line. The birds were in the first bend of the path when
first seen, then gradually foraged eastward, sometimes dispersing into the
nearby cover. When the bird of interest first flitted onto the path, a
bright flash of rusty feathers caught my eye. The bird was essentially the
same size as a nearby Sooty, but the entire tail and rump were quite bright
rusty, and there was considerable rust in the folded wings, including the
greater coverts. It was very easy to pick out anywhere it foraged by the
brightness of its plumage. The heavy breast streaking was brown and
appeared a little less distinctly "chevroned" than a Sooty's breast. There
was no apparent rust on the head, upper back, or breast, which were brown,
but not as dark as the more chocolate brown Sooty. The lower mandible was
yellow. I imagine this bird may represent one of the "Slate-colored" forms,
but it might be worth someone trying to photograph it for further study. It
was a bit too windy and wet out there yesterday to be toting a camera.
Throwing some seed along that pathway might be a good way to get another
good look at this bird.

Bob Sundstrom
ixoreus at scattercreek.com
Tenino, WA