This is bird note. A modest thicket of trees along a street can be the perfect place to hear one of the earliest bird songs of Spring, the Fox Sparrow.

A lot. The Fox Sparrow. A loud spirited song of whistled notes tells us the Fox Sparrow is at hand.

The stocky sparrow reveals itself by vigorously kicking the leaf litter with both feet.

It's rust brown and grey above and on the face with a white breast speckled with rusty streaks.

Fox Sparrow's breed in boreal forests and in the mountains of the west.

There are four geographic groups, each with a unique plumage. The eastern most birds have

the rufous color of a red fox. Others found further west are a mix of brown, rust, and gray. Fox Sparrow's varied habitats include

boreal spruce and shrubby willows, rocky alpine thickets and brushy forest

clearings, and moist stream sides and chaparral.

What these places have in common is dense vegetation where the sneaky fox sparrow is at home. As winter ends, look for these striking sparrows tossing

up leaves beside a trail or road. If you have a bird feeder, scattering seed on the ground could draw a fox

sparrow out of hiding. For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.

Today's show brought to you by the Babylink Foundation.