Greetings All

There is this misconception that all Fox Sparrows that are red are "Red Fox Sparrows."
Indeed, not all Fox Sparrows that are red are Red Fox Sparrows, nor are all Red Fox Sparrows red.

So, the Nisqually birds do not fit in with the P. iliaca iliaca/zaboria, which are the two subspecies widely included in Red Fox Sparrow. The bird does rather look like my conception of the mysterious P. altivagans, which has been included in both the "Red" and "Slate-colored" Fox Sparrow groups and is probably some sort of hybrid swarm. Even the experts (Zink, Rising) are a tad vague on what an altivagans looks like, and they've not been well studied (at least phenotypically) on their breeding grounds.

So why is the Nisqually bird nicely photographed by the Sullivans not a traditional Red Fox Sparrow. The Nisqually bird lacks the well marked auriculars (somewhat Song Sparrow like in Red Rox) of Red Fox Sparrow, and the back is largely gray with very weak dark streaking. This combination of a relatively subdued face and back pattern on a bird with wingbars, etc fits my conception of altivagans pretty well. The back streaking should eliminate SC Fox Sparrow types.

Cheers
Steve MlodinowEverett WA
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