Red Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) [XC421834]
by Jeff Dyck from Peace River B (near Goodlow), Peace River, British Columbia, Canada (song)
Red Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) [XC712029]
by William Whitehead from Ellery, Sunnyside Marsh Preserve, Chautauqua County, New York, United States (call, song)
Subspecies
Genus sometimes subsumed in Zonotrichia. Together with Passerella schistacea, Passerella megarhyncha and Passerella unalaschcensis are often treated as conspecific. Some molecular data suggest that American Tree Sparrow (Passerella arborea) may be sister-taxon of these four. Probably hybridizes occasionally with Passerella unalaschcensis near L Iliamna, at eastern end of Alaska Peninsula. Geographical variation largely clinal, making delimitation of subspecies difficult. Nominate subspecies and zaboria intergrade into each other, and many individuals cannot safely be assigned to either subspecies.
The following 19 subspecies are recognised:
zaboria Oberholser, 1946 - Breeds north-western and interior Alaska and in western Canada from northern Yukon and north-western and central-eastern Northwest Territories east to northern Manitoba, south to northern British Columbia, central Alberta, central Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Winters in south-eastern USA chiefly east of Great Plains, from eastern Kansas and southern Iowa south to southern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and northern Georgia.
iliaca (Merrem, 1786) - Breeds in eastern Canada from north-eastern Manitoba east to northern Labrador, south to north-central Ontario, south-eastern Quebec and southern Newfoundland. Winters in south-eastern Canada (southern Ontario and New Brunswick) and eastern USA from southern Wisconsin and southern Michigan east to northern Vermont, south to southern Mississippi, Alabama and central Florida.
unalaschcensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) - Aleutians and south-western Alaska to north-western British Columbia. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Sooty Fox-sparrow (Passerella unalaschcensis).
insularis Ridgway, 1900 - Kodiak Is. (southern of Alaska). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Sooty Fox-sparrow (Passerella unalaschcensis).
sinuosa Grinnell, 1910 - Southern Alaska. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Sooty Fox-sparrow (Passerella unalaschcensis).
annectens Ridgway, 1900 - Yukuatat Bay (south-eastern Alaska). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Sooty Fox-sparrow (Passerella unalaschcensis).
townsendi (Audubon, 1838) - South-eastern Alaska, Queen Charlotte Is. (south-western Canada). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Sooty Fox-sparrow (Passerella unalaschcensis).
chilcatensis Webster, 1983 - South-eastern Alaska to north-western British Columbia (western Canada). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Sooty Fox-sparrow (Passerella unalaschcensis).
fuliginosa Ridgway, 1899 - Coastal south-eastern Alaska to north-western USA. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Sooty Fox-sparrow (Passerella unalaschcensis).
fulva Swarth, 1918 - Oregon eastern of Cascades to north-eastern California (Modoc); > to northern Baja.
megarhyncha Baird, SF, 1858 - South-western Oregon and California (western USA). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Thick-billed Fox-sparrow (Passerella megarhyncha).
brevicauda Mailliard, 1918 - Northern and inner coast ranges of California; > to southern California.
stephensi Anthony, 1895 - Sierra Nevada and high mts. of southern Calif.; > lower elevations.
monoensis Grinnell & Storer, 1917 - Mono Lake area of e-c Calif. and adj. Nevada; > to north-western Baja.
altivagans Riley, 1911 - Interior south-western Canada. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Slate-colored Fox-sparrow (Passerella schistacea).
olivacea Aldrich, 1943 - South-western Canada and north-western USA. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Slate-colored Fox-sparrow (Passerella schistacea).
schistacea Baird, SF, 1858 - South-western Canada to west-central USA. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Slate-colored Fox-sparrow (Passerella schistacea).
swarthi Behle & Selander, 1951 - North-western Utah and south-eastern Idaho (west-central USA). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Slate-colored Fox-sparrow (Passerella schistacea).
canescens Swarth, 1918 - Eastern California and central Nevada (west-central USA). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Slate-colored Fox-sparrow (Passerella schistacea).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet