 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
Click for a larger version or to add map overlays |
||
Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
|
Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
|
-7.7 (-15.6 - -0.301)
2.24 (0.35 - 4.18)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atlas Results
Fox Sparrows were found in 134 atlas squares in Saskatchewan's northern forests, and detected at 600 point count locations. Generally common in and around the Selwyn Lake Upland and adjacent ecoregions in the far northeast, Fox Sparrows tended to be more locally common elsewhere. Most observations were made north of Brabant Lake, with only a handful of records in the southern boreal. A single nest containing two eggs found on 1 July 2019 near Grove Lake on the Porcupine River was the only confirmation of breeding for the atlas.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
Named for the foxy-red breast streaks, tail, rump, wings, and face of the eastern race, Fox Sparrows are seen in Saskatchewan mostly en route to and from northern breeding grounds. The breeding range includes the northern boreal and montane regions across North America, with wintering along the Pacific Coast and from southern Ontario and the Maritimes through the US to the Mexican border.
Preferred northern habitat includes islands; dense streamside or shoreline thickets; scrubby woodlands with alders, willows, or small spruce; and second-growth in cutovers and burns. On migration it may occur anywhere there is woody cover.
Fox Sparrows are uncommon summer residents in northern Saskatchewan south to Kazan and Waddy Lakes. Aside from isolated breeding populations in the Meadow Lake area and in the Manitoba Lowlands, it is generally an uncommon transient in the south. The relatively large number of [migration] records from the mixed forest implies that the Fox Sparrow either overflies or circumvents the parklands and grasslands (Smith 1996). Very few pass through the southwest.
Original text by Bert and Joan Dalziel. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Fox Sparrow in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Fox Sparrow in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=FOSP&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]
| Previous species: Lark Bunting | Table of Contents | Next species: Dark-eyed Junco |