Leucistic Fox Sparrow
Leucistic Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca sinuosa, Seaside Farm, Homer, 24 August 2009.
The breeding race of Fox Sparrows in the Homer area is P. i. sinuosa, part of the “Sooty” group of Fox Sparrows occuring along the coast of Alaska as far west as Unimak Island in the eastern Aleutians (Gibson and Kessel 1997). Sooty Fox Sparrows are supposed to be just that, sooty in color, but there’s always an oddball. This leucistic individual is identified as a Fox Sparrow by size, shape and voice. It shows the large, round head and thick, bicolored bill of the species. Mossy Kilcher called me to tell me about this bird which has been hanging around her feeders most of the summer; Mossy’s feeders have a knack for attracting unusual birds! I stopped by this week and was fortunate to see it and get a few photos–a sharp looking bird.
A normally pigmented Sooty Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca sinuosa, Hornaday Hillside Park, Homer, 26 August 2009.
Juvenile Sooty Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca sinuosa, Seaside Farm, Homer, 24 August 2009.
These last two photos are examples of normally pigmented Sooty Fox Sparrows. The downy feathers on the head, breast and sides of the bird in the last photo identify it as a juvenile.
