Fox Sparrow

Fox sparrow Passerella iliaca
One of the signs of spring is heard at dawn and dusk in elegant vocalizations of the Fox sparrow with its rising clear notes and melodic descending whistles. These sounds are frequently combined with strong rustling of the leaves and grasses as the Fox sparrow scratches vigorously for seeds and insects.
This morning a flock of perhaps a dozen Fox sparrows began their morning concert and now they are working through the layer of leaves under the trees and around the edges of the clearing. I discovered two of them working through the sunflower seed hulls dropped beneath feeders.

The Fox sparrow is identified by his Gray eyebrow, crown, nape and back; bright rufous rump and long rufous tail; rufous cheeks, malar streak, streaks on back, wings and spotting below