A few birds from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
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Fox Sparrow:Fox Sparrow Elagayuli Everyone has pet names for their favorite critters. Whenever I meet this chunky little bird I find myself calling him Foxy Loxy (from the story, The Sky is Falling). It's hard to say whether it's a him or a her because both sexes are the same color. But since I'm a guy, well you know the story. And what a foxy color they both have, matching the rufous fur of the red fox, hence its common name. Although the population found in the Y-K Delta isn't as red as others, you ought to see them in the Interior. They are so bright red as to make your eyes burn. Another unique characteristic of this sparrow is the way it scratches in the leaf litter of the woods, kicking backward with both feet at the same time so vigorously as to dig a hole in the ground right down to the humus layer, which is so rich in the tiny insects it loves to eat and feed its young. Except for its beautiful song, the way the bird digs with both feet is one of the best ways to identify it from a distance. It is such a powerful digger you can hear it in the quiet of the woods before you actually see it. Which leads us to its Yupik name, Elagayuli, meaning "the one who's really good at digging." Appropriately, the Fox sparrow shares its name with the American robin. I mentioned his song (and it is "his" song). I agree with John Torres, who described the bird as probably the best singer of all the sparrows, with "clear, exultant, melodious flutelike notes." Every time I come across a Fox sparrow singing, I stop and listen to him for a long long time. (This can be trying for my non-birding friends.) Next time you think you hear this sparrow singing, stop and listen for yourself, and you'll see what I mean. Listen more closely, and you'll hear him as he sings each song repertoire completely through to the end when he begins anew. Elagayuli sings, of course, mostly to demonstrate his claim to his nesting territory, which both attracts his mate and keeps other males away. Since I've never noticed any mating displays (and neither have others I've consulted) of the male, my Keim theory is that the male doesn't need to display because his song is enough to win over any available female who happens to be first in the neighborhood. It's simply Mother Nature's way, especially in Alaska where the nesting period is so brief, of allowing the parents to get down to the serious business of raising a family ASAP. And the female does just that by building a cup-shaped nest, usually on dry ground under a shrubby thicket, of twigs, mosses, dried grasses, and lined with feathers and animal hair. She lays up to five very pretty pale blue to pale green eggs that are thickly splotched with russet browns. Incubation is by the female alone and lasts for up to two weeks. When the hatchlings first peck their way out of the eggs, Mama may not be proud of their ugly little naked bodies, but after another 9-11 days of frenzied feeding by both parents the chicks become quite the handsome young teenagers, taking on many of the same colors of their parents. Perhaps the heavy protein diet of insects and worms has something to do with this. At 11 days, the hatchlings become fledglings and are ready to "fly the coop," so to speak, and to prepare themselves to seek their own fortunes -- that is, after a little more feeding and TLC from their parents in the general vicinity of their home turf. A couple more weeks of that, though, and they're ready to go. Quite fast, compared to our own lives, eh? Although Foxy Loxy is my own moniker for this melodious sparrow, there are others: Fox-colored sparrow, Ferruginous finch, Foxy finch and Fox-tail. Scientists reduce everything to: Passerella iliaca, very loosely translated as, little sparrow with the fancy pantaloons. Be aware that this loquacious sparrow has many dialects, all equally as melodious, and the stuff of poetry. Hmmm, maybe I should write a poem about this bird someday.  |
