The Fox Sparrow comes in four variations ranging from foxy red to gray to dark brown.  The Red Fox Sparrow is found in northern U.S., Sooty Fox Sparrow is found on the Pacific Coast, Slate Fox Sparrow is found in the east down to Florida, Thick Billed Fox Sparrow is found in California and Oregon.   Fox Sparrow fossils from the Pleistocene (about 11,000 years ago) have been found in Pennsylvania, Virginia and California.  They are among the largest sparrows at 5.9-7.5 inches long and .9-1.6 oz.

Fox Sparrows feed on the ground close to dense vegetation.  They enjoy small seeds and many kinds of berries, and insects.  They forage on leaf litter and bare ground.  They find their prey with a ‘double-scratch’ involving a hop forward and an immediate hop back, during which they simultaneously scratch both feet backwards through the leaf litter.

Fox Sparrows breed in thickets and bushes across Northern America.  During migration Fox Sparrows forage in the leaf litter on open hardwood forests as well as swampy thickets.  Upon arriving at breeding grounds, they establish territories of up to 2.5 acres and pair off with mates within a week.  They lay 2-5 eggs once a season, with 12-14 days incubation, 9-11 days nestling.  At hatching they are helpless and downy.

Fox Sparrows are numerous, and populations hold steady.  They are of low conservation concern. Because they forage on the ground they can fall prey to cats.  They are also prey to other predatory birds, weasels, chipmunks and snakes.  Parents will give a metallic chirp and pretend to have a broken wing to lure potential predators away from the nest.  The oldest recorded Fox Sparrow was 10 years, 4 months when it was recaptured and rereleased in California.