Sounds

From the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Brewster (1883: 377) waxed enthusiastic about the song of the Red Fox Sparrow: “At all hours of the day, in every kind of weather late into the brief summer, its voice rises among the evergreen woods filling the air with quivering, delicious melody, which at length dies softly, mingling with the soughing of the wind in the spruces, or drowned by the muffled roar of the surf beating against neighboring cliffs. To my ear the prominent characteristic of its voice is richness. It expresses careless joy and exultant masculine vigor, rather than delicate shades of sentiment, and . . . is such a fervent, sensuous, and withal perfectly rounded carol that it affects the ear much as sweetmeats do the palate, and for the moment renders all other bird music dull and uninteresting by comparison.”

Richness of whistled eastern song replaced by more burry quality in the West (see below).

Two primary sources of information are a master’s thesis by Blacquiere (1979) and a series of papers by Martin (1977, 1979, 1980, 1990) based on his Ph.D. thesis (Martin 1976).

Development

Two vocalizations heard from nestlings (Blacquiere 1979: 29). By young nestlings, in response to movement of or near nest, a 0.25- to 0.75-s high, thin seep, a continuous call modulated at 20–50 Hz between 6 and 10 kHz, like a continuous sine wave on a sonogram. By older nestlings, when handled, loud and harsh bursts of 6 or 7 notes in a second, evoking a vigorous response from adults, of check calls and “short rapid flights, and fluttering from branch to branch.”

Songs learned, as revealed by local dialects (see below), and by mimicry. Western groups reported to mimic Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) and Black-chinned Sparrow (Spizella atrogularis; Erickson and Wurster 1998), as well as a variety of other species (e.g., Hammond’s Flycatcher [Empidonax hammondii] in Sierra Nevada; G. F. Budney unpubl.). No mimicry reported for Red forms in either literature or by L. Peyton (unpubl.) from ex-tensive recordings in Alaska.

See also Phenology, below.

Vocal Array

Male Song. Songs of eastern Red Fox Sparrow “like the soft tinkling of silver bells” (Judd 1901: 88), “not a note . . . [of] . . . which a human being cannot whistle” (Moore 1913: 182). Often reported to be ventriloquial (e.g., Townsend and Allen 1907). Best described from Newfoundland (Blacquiere 1979): Males typically have a single song type (of 169 individuals, 163 had a single song, 6 had 2 songs; see also Moore 1913). Number of whistled notes in song averages 11.7 ± 2.0 SD (range 7–22, n = 175 songs from 169 individuals), overall song duration 2.54 s ± 0.27 SD (range 1.93–3.44, n = 175). Male always sings same sequence of whistled notes (or syllables) in his song, though last note sometimes left off, perhaps more so later in season; when especially agitated, male may omit a note in middle of song (Blacquiere 1979).

Newfoundland Red Fox Sparrows much like those in Nova Scotia (Naugler and Smith 1991). On Bon Portage I., each of 11 males had a single song type, and only 2 types occurred on island, 5 males with one type, 6 with the other. Same songs present in 1989 and 1990. Songs of Red forms in Alaska also largely whistled, and 3 selections in Peyton 1999, from Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Copper River drainage, all consist of a male singing a single song type (see Fig. 4), just as in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

In Alaska, most Red forms also sing only 1 song, but 2 songs are “not uncommon”; males would occasionally use one type during playback, 2 eventually sometimes after playback. One banded male retained same song for 3 consecutive years (L. Peyton unpubl.; males in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia studies were not banded, so similar information not available from those studies).

Songs vary geographically. In Newfoundland, songs on small islands only 2–4 km offshore are different from those on mainland. On mainland, songs seem to vary continuously over distance, with localities 200–300 km distant having highly distinct songs. Last half of song more consistent within locality and more distinctive between localities (Blacquiere 1979). In Alaska, Red forms also have song dialects; songs from Copper River drainage, for example, are different from those in rest of Alaska, and males from Copper River drainage do not respond to playback of songs from elsewhere, and vice versa. Where 2 dialects converge at Isabel Pass, males respond to both types (L. Peyton unpubl.).

Songs of Sooty, Slate-colored, and Thick-billed groups differ from those of Red group (see Fig. 4), though only Slate-colored has been studied in any detail (Martin 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1990). Western birds also have characteristic rich tone and great amplitude (Martin 1977), but typically have more buzzy trills and fewer clear whistled notes, and they seem to mimic more, too (Garrett et al. 2000; Fig. 4). Males in Martin’s n. Utah and s. Idaho study site had a repertoire of 3 or 4 song types (average 3.2 and 3.1 in 1973 and 1974, respectively; range 2–7). Number of syllables in a song ranged from 7 to 9. Males were also highly consistent in singing same repertoire of songs, even from year to year.

Songs of Slate-colored birds also vary geographically. Birds in one canyon had especially distinctive songs (Martin 1979). As in Maritime Provinces, neighboring males also shared nearly identical song types. Among 62–71 birds in each year of Martin’s study, and among total of 390 songs in their collective repertoires, only 5 major song types occurred, again revealing that males learn their songs from each other (only 15% of the 390 songs did not read-ily fit into these 5 common patterns).

Needed is a rangewide comparison of singing behavior for Fox Sparrow, to determine if tendency for a single song form is consistent across range of Red form and to document how all western populations organize their singing behavior (see also Fig. 4). The >400 samples of vocal behavior in Cornell University’s Library of Natural Sounds would be a good place to start.

Female Song. Female occasionally sings, though more softly and briefly than male (Martin 1977). Saunders (1910: 80) described 2 birds singing alternately, as if rival males. Their songs were similar “in every way except that one was somewhat weaker than the other. I finally secured the bird with the weaker song and was much surprised when, on later examination, it proved to be a female.” Blacquiere (1979) thought he recorded female song once, though the sex was unconfirmed.

Calls. Calls described from Newfoundland by Blacquiere (1979), the first 4 in response to playback of male territorial song.

Check. About 20 ms, “an explosive aspirate” (Moore 1913: 179), “the usual alarm note, a loud ‘smack’“ (Townsend and Allen 1907: 403), a “thrasher-like chuck of alarm” (Linsdale 1928a: 274), midfrequency about 4 kHz. Given by males during territorial counters, by male and female when nest is approached by a human, and by male and sometimes female in response to song playback within territory (see below).

Sip. Also about 20 ms, a sharp note with midfrequency about 8 kHz, given only by “males in an apparent state of extreme agitation” (Blacquiere 1979: 27).

Chu-chu. Each chu note about 50 ms, extending from 3 to 7 kHz, several (7 in only example given) chu notes given in succession at rate of 4/s. Heard by Blacquiere only once, during song playback, by presumed female as male was singing nearby, the calling bird’s head moving up and down. Probably same call described by Townsend and Allen (1907): “One individual who was ‘smacking’ in a fir tree emitted faint sneezy notes with motions of swallowing between the smacks” (Blacquiere 1979: 28). (L. Peyton [unpubl.] heard similar sounds from a male in which 2 large fly maggots had eaten away the nasal cavity.)

“Inter-song notes.” Sometimes given just before song, an “unstructured series of syllable like notes,” (Blacquiere 1979: 28) much like notes given between songs just after male arrives on breeding territory in spring.

Other calls. Tsip. A faint call heard in late summer, from small flock of 5 birds perched in dense vegetation. Probably same as “long drawn . . . stssp so commonly heard in Massachusetts during the migrations” (Linsdale 1928a: 285); also described by Townsend and Allen (1907) for migrating birds. Function unclear, but often given as birds are disturbed and rise to a higher perch. Two other notes reported by Terrill (1968: 1408): a modified “ tchek ” given by flock of migrating birds going to roost, and a “peculiar note, shrill, prolonged—a kind of squeal” from fighting birds in migration.

Geographic Variation

“Common contact calls” (referred to above as check calls) vary geographically among Fox Sparrow groups (Garrett et al. 2000). In Red, Sooty, and Slate-colored groups, the call is “a smacking tik or thick,” about 25 ms in duration, a “click-like tik ” ranging from 3 to 10 kHz, a “burst of energy that terminates extremely quickly.” Call of Thick-billed group, in contrast, is a chink, with a “metallic, whistle-like quality,” about 50 ms, the energy concentrated in a narrow frequency band at about 5 kHz (Garrett et al. 2000: 412–413). See Garrett et al. 2000 for sonograms. Thorough rangewide comparison of calls needed, not only for check call but also for other calls, such as nestling begging seep; calls most likely not learned and would there-fore provide better systematic information than would songs.

Phenology

Birds often sing in spring migration (e.g., Eaton 1914), seeming to improve as they approach breeding grounds, typically arriving there in full song (Townsend and Allen 1907, Terrill 1968). During migration, claimed to sing best in the evening (Saunders 1948). On breeding territory in early spring, Blacquiere (1979) recorded 4 or 5 males still in subsong, Martin (1977) only 1, and that one progressed to full song within 3 d.

In both Newfoundland and Utah/Idaho, birds sing vigorously shortly after their arrival on breeding grounds (early to mid-Apr in Newfoundland, late Mar through Apr in Utah/Idaho) until young hatch (Martin 1977, Blacquiere 1979). In Utah/Idaho, males sing little as they care for nestling and early fledglings (from third week of May until first week of Jun), but then sing more from mid-Jun until mid-Jul, when singing stops for breeding season (Martin 1977). Some resurgence of singing in early fall after postnuptial molt (Saunders 1948, Martin 1977).

Daily Pattern

Has a reputation for lusty singing, on bright sunny days and in foul weather, from “morn till late at night” (references in Linsdale 1928a: 28). Sings during dawn chorus, beginning “just after it began to get light prior to dawn,” continuing 3–4 h, with reduced singing during midday and more frequent singing again near dusk (Blacquiere 1979: 36).

Places Of Vocalizing

“ . . . [S]ings generally from a concealed perch inside of a spruce or fir tree a foot or two from the top . . .” (Townsend and Allen 1907: 402; see also Moore 1913). In Newfoundland, “2–3 song perches regularly used by the males, usually in the tallest trees in the territory, within one meter of the top and close to the trunk” (Blacquiere 1979: 36). For other vocalizations, see above.

Repertoire And Delivery Of Songs

Song repertoire size differs among Fox Sparrow groups, from typically 1 song type in Red group (Maritime Provinces to Alaska) to 3 or 4 in Slate-colored group (Utah/Idaho; see above), perhaps even more in other groups, as evidenced by 1 Thick-billed male with 7 types (Fig. 4). If a male Red Fox Sparrow in Newfoundland has 2 songs, he alternates them, in A B A B A B format (Blacquiere 1979), though Red forms in Alaska with 2 types do not always alternate (L. Peyton unpubl.). Slate-colored males also tend to sing all of the songs in their repertoire before repeating them, such as A B A B for a 2-repertoire male, or A B C A B C, or A B C D A B C D for 3- and 4-repertoire males, such that all songs are used with about equal frequency. Sequences of songs rigidly adhered to, and a first-order Markov chain describes song sequencing habits of majority of males in Utah/Idaho population (e.g., 36 of 39 males with repertoires of ≥3 songs). See Figure 4 and Martin 1990 for more details.

Repertoire of syllable types for Slate-colored males correlated with song repertoire size. Males with 2, 3, and 4 song types had average of 16, 20, and 24 syllable types, respectively; range of syllable repertoires from 10 to 33. Total of 49 syllable types described all syllables in study population, all types present in both years, and 22 of the 49 were shared by more than half of the birds, again revealing the song similarity among the birds and that they learn from each other (Martin 1979).

Rate of singing up to 6 songs a minute during dawn chorus in Newfoundland (Blacquiere 1979), comparable to rate of singing in Utah/Idaho, where males average 7 s between songs (Martin 1990).

Songs in repertoire appear to have no functional difference, as males respond similarly to playback of all types (Martin 1980).

Social Context And Presumed Functions

See above.

None reported.