Sooty Fox Sparrow

Taxobox
name = Sooty Fox Sparrow


image_width = 300px
image_caption = "Passerella (iliaca) unalaschcensis"
status = NE
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Emberizidae
genus = "Passerella"
species = "P. (iliaca) unalaschcensis"
trinomial = "Passerella iliaca unalaschcensis""' group
trinomial_authority = (Gmelin, 1789)
range_

range_map_width = 256px
range_map_caption = Breeding ranges of the four Fox Sparrow groups
subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
subdivision = About 6, see article text

The Sooty Fox Sparrow ("Passerella (iliaca) unalaschcensis") contains the darkest-colored taxa in the genus "Passerella". It is currently classified as a "subspecies group" [Not defined by the ICZN] within the Fox Sparrow pending wider-spread acceptance of species status. It has long been suspected to be a separate evolutionary lineage due to morphological distinctness (Swarth 1920), and this is confirmed by analysis of mtDNA sequence and haplotype data (Zink 1994, Zink & Kessen 1999, Zink & Weckstein 2003). This group appears to be most closely related to the Thick-billed and/or Slate-colored Fox Sparrows (Zink 1996, Zink & Weckstein 2003).

Description

The Sooty Fox Sparrow complex varies clinally in intensity of color. The upperparts and head are a variable shade of brown with streaks on the underparts of the same color. The northernmost birds are a sandy brown while southernmost birds are a dark coffee-like color. Sooties prefer to breed in willows and alders at the edge of wet habitats. Beadle & Rising (2003)Verify source|date=July 2007 describe their call note as a sharp "zitt" or "thik", while Sibley (2000) says it is a loud smack like that of Red Fox Sparrow.

ubspecies

Six subspecies are usually recognized in the Sooty Fox Sparrow complex, ranging from "unalaschensis" in the Aleutians to "fuliginosa" in extreme northwestern Washington:

* "unalaschcensis" (Gmelin, 1789)::Breeds from Unalaska Island (Aleutian Islands) to the Shumagin and Semidi Islands and adjacent Alaska Peninsula. Winter range from S British Columbia to southernmost California, rarely even further south.(Weckstein "et al." 2002):There are two distinct groups known from the winter range: brownish ash-grey birds with alonger and more pointed bill, and darker lead-grey birds with thicker, blunter bills; the taxonomic significane of this is unknown (Weckstein "et al." 2002). Seems to intergrade with "sinuosa" and "insularis" where their ranges meet. (Swarth 1920)

* "townsendi" (Audubon, 1838)::Breeds along the Pacific coast from Glacier Bay to Queen Charlotte Islands. Winter range south of breeding range, to C California.(Weckstein "et al." 2002):Much darker and more rufous than "unalaschcensis", with conspicuously larger and more plentiful breast spots similar to "fuliginosa" (Swarth 1920).

* "fuliginosa" Ridgway, 1899::Breeds on the mainland S from Stikine River to NW Washington. Winter range from SW British Columbia south to coastal C California.(Weckstein "et al." 2002):Darker and sootier than "townsendi", with largest and most plentiful breast spots (Weckstein "et al." 2002).

* "annectens" Ridgway, 1900::Breeds along the Pacific coast from N Yakutat Bay to Cross Sound. Winter range coastal C California.(Weckstein "et al." 2002):Intermediate between "sinuosa" and "townsendi" (Swarth 1920). Morphology and range suggest its validity should be checked.

* "insularis" Ridgway, 1900::Breeding limited to Kodiak Island. In winter, found along Pacific coast southwards to southernmost California.(Weckstein "et al." 2002):Brighter and more uniformly ruddy above, with strong and rich brown breast spots; under tail-coverts tinged buff (Weckstein "et al." 2002).

* "sinuosa" Grinnell, 1910::Breeds around Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula and on Middleton Island. In winter, south along Pacific slope of S California.(Weckstein "et al." 2002):Intermediate between "unalaschcensis" and "insularis", but bill markedly more slender than in either (Weckstein "et al." 2002).

* "chilcatensis" Webster, 1983::The "non-typical fuliginosa" of Swarth (1920), breeding between the Chilkat River area to Tewart and surroundings (British Columbia), and wintering along the coast, mainly between Oregon and the San Francisco Bay region (Weckstein "et al." 2002).:Much like "fuliginosa", but duller and shorter-tailed. Not usually accepted as distinct by recent reviewers (e.g. Zink 1994, Rising & Beadle 1996, Zink & Kessen 1999), although the presence of similarly distinct birds in "unalaschcensis" suggests the matter warrants more research.

References

* Beadle, David & Rising, Jim D. (2003): "Sparrows of the United States and Canada : the photographic guide". Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 0-691-11747-0

* Rising, Jim D. & Beadle, David (1996): "A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of the Sparrows of the United States and Canada". Academic Press, San Diego. ISBN 0-12-588971-2

* Sibley, David Allen (2000): "The Sibley Guide to Birds". Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-679-45122-6

* 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.

* Weckstein, J. D.; Kroodsma, D. E. & Faucett, R. C. (2002): Fox Sparrow ("Passerella iliaca"). "In:" Poole, A. & Gill, F. (eds.): "The Birds of North America" 715. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA & American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. Online version, retrieved 2006-11-27. DOI|10.2173/bna.715 (requires subscription)

* Zink, R. 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 (HTML abstract, first page image)

* Zink, Robert M. & Kessen, A. E. (1999): Species Limits in the Fox Sparrow. "Birding" 31: 508-517.

* Zink, Robert M. & Weckstein, Jason D. (2003): Recent evolutionary history of the Fox Sparrows (Genus: "Passerella"). "Auk" 120(2): 522–527. [Article in English with Spanish abstract] DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120 [0522:REHOTF] 2.0.CO;2 [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200304/ai_n9166839 HTML fulltext] (without images)

Footnotes