Fox sparrow

Fox sparrow
Red fox sparrow (P. i. iliaca), Whitby, Ontario
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae
Genus: Passerella
Swainson, 1837
Species: P. iliaca
Binomial name
Passerella iliaca
(Merrem, 1786)
Breeding ranges of the four fox sparrow groups

The fox sparrow (Passerella iliaca) is a large American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Passerella, although some authors split the species into four (see below).

Taxonomy

More specific information regarding plumage is available in the accounts for the various taxa.

Description

Adults are among the largest sparrows, heavily spotted and streaked underneath. All feature a messy central breast spot though it is less noticeable on the thick billed and slate-colored varieties. Plumage varies markedly from one group to another.

Behavior

These birds forage by scratching the ground, which makes them vulnerable to cats and other predators, though they are generally common. Fox sparrows migrate on the west coast of the United States.

Diet

They mainly eat seeds and insects, as well as some berries. Coastal fox sparrows may also eat crustaceans.

Reproduction

Fox sparrows nest in wooded areas across northern Canada and western North America from Alaska to California. They nest either in a sheltered location on the ground or low in trees or shrubs. A nest typically contains two to five pale green to greenish white eggs speckled with reddish brown.[2]

Systematics

The review by Zink & Weckstein (2003),[3] which added mtDNA cytochrome b, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 and 3, and D-loop sequence, confirmed the four "subspecies groups"[4] of the fox sparrow that were outlined by the initial limited mtDNA haplotype comparison (Zink 1994).[5] These should probably be recognized as separate species, but this was deferred for further analysis of hybridization. Particularly the contact zones between the slate-colored and thick-billed fox sparrows which are only weakly distinct morphologically were of interest; the other groups were found to be distinct far earlier.[6] A further study of the nuclear genome, using microsatellites, showed similar separation between the four groups.[7]

The combined molecular data is unable to resolve the interrelationship of the subspecies group and of subspecies in these, but aids in confirming the distinctness of the thick-billed group.[3] Biogeography indicates that the coastal populations were probably isolated during an epoch of glaciation of the Rocky Mountains range, but this is also not very helpful in resolving the remaining problems of within-group diversity, and inter-group relationships.

Major taxonomic authorities currently differ in their treatment of the fox sparrow complex. The IOC World Bird List and HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World treat each of the four subspecies groups as a separate species, while the eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world and Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World currently treat the complex as a single species.[8]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Passerella iliaca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Ehrlich, Paul R.; Dobkin, David S.; Wheye, Darryl (1988). The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster, Fireside. p. 596. ISBN 0-671-65989-8.
  3. 1 2 Zink, Robert M.; Weckstein, Jason D. (2003). "Recent evolutionary history of the Fox Sparrows (Genus: Passerella)". Auk. 48 (120(2)): 522–527. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0522:REHOTF]2.0.CO;2.
  4. ↑ Not defined by the ICZN
  5. ↑ Zink, Robert M. (1994). "The Geography of Mitochondrial DNA Variation, Population Structure, hybridization, and Species Limits in the Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)". Evolution. 48 (1): 96–111. doi:10.2307/2410006.
  6. ↑ Swarth, H. W. (1920). "Revision of the avian genus Passerella with special reference to the distribution and migration of the races in California". University of California Publications in Zoology. 21: 75–224.
  7. ↑ Zink (2008). "Microsatellite and mitochondrial dna differentiation in the fox sparrow". The Condor. 110: 482–492. doi:10.1525/cond.2008.8496.
  8. ↑ Lepage, Denis. "Passerella [iliaca, unalaschensis, schistacea or megarhyncha]". Avibase - the world bird database. Retrieved 2017-06-04.

Further reading

Book

Theses

Articles

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.