HOUSE SPARROWS

     Over the years, I've heard people boast "we have bluebirds at our house" or say with enthusiasm "we have barred owls in our neighborhood."  Well, let me say with pride "we have house sparrows in our neighborhood"!  These little, abundant birds, to me, are just as interesting as bluebirds, barred owls and every other form of life.  And they have as much right to life on Earth.    

     House sparrows dominate my neighborhood in southeastern Pennsylvania with their numbers and aggression.  They usually move around in small groups and have their favorite bushes to gather in.  I think their daily, lively activities are interesting and entertaining.  

     Though native to Eurasia, house sparrows, a kind of weaver finch, are adaptable, common birds that live successfully in human-made habitats in southeastern Pennsylvania, and across much of North America.  They are permanent residents in cities and towns, farmyards, shopping malls, zoos and parks.  I even see these little birds scavenging edible tidbits in every shopping mall parking lot I have been in.

     House sparrows feed on invertebrates and weed and grass seeds during warmer months, and on seeds and grain in winter.  I've noticed these birds ingesting Japanese beetles, annual cicadas and other kinds of insects.  Once, I saw a female house sparrow pecking on an annual cicada's exoskeleton to kill it and chop it into edible pieces.  House sparrows are daily, year round visitors to bird feeders as well, where they are most readily visible from peoples' homes.

     House sparrows roost overnight, throughout the year, in dense shrubbery planted on lawns to avoid weather and predators.  But most house sparrows raise offspring in crevices in buildings and other human-made, outdoor objects, including metal boxes on utility poles and bird boxes erected on lawns and in farmyards.  There this species' young are protected from weather and most predators, except certain kinds of snakes that can slide into cracks, and house wrens that break sparrow eggs to discourage the sparrows so the wrens can take over the nest for themselves.  But with luck, a pair of house sparrows might rear two or three broods of four or five babies in each one, feeding each brood a protein-rich diet of invertebrates.

     House sparrows, in general, compete with eastern bluebirds, tree swallows, house wrens, Carolina chickadees and other kinds of cavity-nesting, small birds for nesting spots.  But house sparrows, often to the irritation of some people, are aggressive and often win the battles for nesting sites.  

     Male house sparrows in spring and summer ae attractive in a camouflaged way.  Each one has a black beak, and a black bib that covers his throat and chest.  Each male has a gray crest and cheeks, with chestnut through the face.  And his wings are chestnut and brown.  His mate and young, however, are light-brown with darker streaks on the wings, all of which allows them to blend in.   

     But house sparrows have their problems, too.  They are caught and eaten by house cats and sharp-shinned hawks.  I saw a sharp-shin catch a house sparrow in a snow storm and eat it while the snow piled up, burying the remnants of the sharpy's meal.  Another time, I saw a blue jay hammering a house sparrow with its strong beak, killing the sparrow for the jay's meal.

     House sparrows are cute, interesting little birds that we are lucky to have in our suburban lawn the year around.  They, as a species, fill niches that most other kinds of birds won't, thus being entertaining where other bird species will not venture.      

        

      






































































in one spring and summer, feeding them invertebrates mostly.

     

  

       


    

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