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the ground under and around our feeder. Their black and white head stripes are not as marked as those of the Whitecrowned Sparrow.
As spring approaches and the White-throated Sparrows molt into breeding plumage, a bright yellow spot will begin to show on the lores of the bird (that space between the bird’s eye and bill.)
Mitchell is lucky to have a Fox Sparrow at her feeder. This is a big, bold bird with a definite foxy color. Fox Sparrows are masters of the “double scratch” method of uncovering hidden seed on the ground and can make the dead leaves fly with their vigorous two-step. Fox Sparrows look like rich, reddish brown, oversized Song Sparrows.
Two more sparrow species may show up at area feeders. Both of these have copper-colored crowns, or caps. Both have clear, unstreaked breasts. The Field Sparrow — only five inches long — has a whitish eye ring, gray cheek patches and a pink bill.
The Tree Sparrow may appear if we have more snow and ice. This is, for me, an exciting little bird. Like the Field Sparrow, it sports a chestnut-colored crown but has a two-toned (dark above, yellow below) bill and a very distinct dark spot in the middle of its unstreaked breast. The arrival of this fine bird at our feeder will be announced in red ink and many exclamation points in Lee’s “Day Book.”
With snow and ice covering the ground for extended periods in New England and Canada, these northern finches — the sparrows just mentioned — plus Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins and Purple Finches, move south in search of food.
It looks to me like we are going to have a snowy and icy winter in 1999. This will certainly make “sparrow watching” — which is really “finch watching” — more exciting.
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