Tweets,

I camped at Windy Pass just north of Naches Pass in the central Washington Cascades (ca. 5000 feet elevation; on the King/Kittitas County line) last Thursday and Friday, right on the crest on Forest road 7030 at an old burn. Fox Sparrows were quite conspicuous throughout in appropriate habitat (young conifer second growth especially). One not only sang right at my campsite but also delivered a nice series of call notes just at dusk.

I had not paid much attention to our resident mountain Fox Sparrows before but am aware of the suggestion that 1) four (or three, or ...?) species of Fox Sparrows might be recognized in the near future (eastern red, northwestern sooty, western montane slate-colored, and sierran thick-billed) and 2) that there have been reports of the southern Cascades/Sierra "thick-billed fox sparrow" in the northern Oregon and southernmost Washington Cascades. This has always struck me as biogeographically implausible, since it would mean that two "species" of virtually identical Fox Sparrows somehow coexist over 500+ miles of territory.

Apparently the criterial feature that observers have been relying upon to identify birds here as "thick-billed fox sparrows" is the "California Towhee-like call note," which is said to clearly contrast with the loud, sharp "smack" [or "tic" or <"heavy> "check" or "chap"] notes of sooty and red fox sparrows. Clear descriptions of the calls of slate-colored fox sparrows -- the form traditionally attributed to the Cascades north of southern Oregon and in the Rockies -- are hard to come by. Several observers expressed frustration at the refusal of slate-colored fox sparrows to give their call notes. Other references suggest their calls are intermediate between the large-billed and the sooty fox sparrow notes [or identical to the thick-billed] , a "tzip" as opposed to a "chip"!? [or a "chek" or "chirp" versus a "chink"].

I paid close attention to the Windy Pass slate-colored fox sparrow's call notes and can attest to the fact that they were very unlike the usual hard "check" notes of our wintering sooty fox sparrows. I described it to myself (before I started reading the web postings) as a "cheep," even with a hint of a doubling to the note. I've heard lots of California Towhees over the years but can't honestly say I can remember precisely how their call notes might compare with this Windy Pass fox sparrow.

I didn't get the best views but the wings and tail were quite reddish, contrasting nicely with the basically gray back and head (thus rather unlike the more uniformly brown winged California birds]. The spotting on the breast was certainly less heavy and run-together than most sooty's. I could see no hint of wing bars [though slate-colored fox sparrows are said to show a hint of a wing bar, while thick-billeds do not] and the lower mandible appeared pale [I couldn't say if it was yellow or horn]. It was not notably different in its responsiveness from sooty's of my acquaintance [thus not notably retiring, as some have found to be a contrasting feature].

In reading over the lengthy discussions of fox sparrow variation on the Fox Sparrow ID web site and links thereon I am inclined to the opinion that there is a single montane species of Fox Sparrow (assuming it is specifically distinct from the sooty and red fox sparrows) that varies clinally south to north (but somewhat irregularly) in bill size, dorsal coloration, bill coloration, and perhaps also in call note. Any other interpretation would seem to make little sense, that is, if species really do represent distinct "ways of life" characteristic of genetically isolated populations.

Gene Hunn
18476 47th Pl NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
enhunn323 at comcast.net