6/3/2023 0 Comments English sparrow![]() More and more houses were built without roof tiles, or the construction of the roofs was so well done, that the sparrows did not have space left for building their nests.Various causes for its dramatic decrease in population have been proposed: Similar precipitous drops in population have also been recorded in the United Kingdom. Currently the number of breeding pairs is estimated at half a million to one million. The population of House Sparrows has halved in the period around 1980 till now. It is however still the second most common breeding bird in the Netherlands, after the Blackbird. In the Netherlands, the House Sparrow is even considered an endangered species. In large parts of Europe, populations of House Sparrows are decreasing. The House Sparrow has the shortest incubation period of all the birds: 10-12 days and a female can lay 25 eggs a summer in New England. They are variable in size and shape as well as markings. However, though this tendency has occasionally been observed in its native habitats (particularly concerning House Martins), it appears to be far more common in habitats in which it has been introduced, such as the USA.įive to six eggs, profusely dusted, speckled or blotched with black, brown or ash-grey on a blue-tinted or creamy white ground, are usual types of the very variable eggs. House Martins, Bluebirds, and Sand Martins are especially susceptible to this behavior. The House Sparrow is quite aggressive in usurping the nesting sites of other birds, often forcibly evicting the previous occupants, and sometimes even building a new nest directly on top of another active nest with live nestlings. Large, well-constructed domed nests are often built when the bird nests in trees or shrubs, especially rural areas. When built in holes or ivy the nest is an untidy litter of straw and rubbish, abundantly filled with feathers. The nesting site is varied under eaves, in holes in masonry or rocks, in ivy or creepers on houses or banks, on the sea-cliffs, or in bushes in bays and inlets. At least three broods are reared in the season. While the young are in their nests, the older birds utter a long churr. The short and incessant chirp needs no description, and its double call note phillip which originated the now obsolete popular name of “Phillip Sparrow”, is as familiar. In spring, flowers, especially those with yellow blossoms, are often attacked and torn to bits crocuses, primroses and aconites seem to attract the House Sparrow most. Diet / Feeding:Īlthough the Sparrows’ young are fed on larvae of insects, often destructive species, this species eats seeds, including grain where it is available. The House Sparrow is gregarious at all seasons in its nesting colonies, when feeding and in communal roosts. So familiar a bird should need little description, yet it is often confused with the smaller and slimmer Tree Sparrow, which, however, has a chestnut and not grey crown, two distinct wing bars, and a black patch on the cheeks. The juveniles are deeper brown, and the white is replaced by buff the beak is dull yellow. The female has no black on head or throat, nor a grey crown her upperparts are streaked with brown. In winter the plumage is dulled by pale edgings, and the bill is yellowish brown. The bill in summer is blue-black, and the legs are brown. The male House Sparrow has a grey crown, cheeks and underparts, black on the throat, upper breast and between the bill and eyes. In cities, towns and villages, even round isolated farms, it can be the most abundant bird. The 14 to 16 centimetre long House Sparrow is abundant but not universally common in many hilly districts it is scarce. ![]() ![]() Though described as tame and semi-domestic, neither is strictly true humans provide food and home, not companionship. Wherever people build, House Sparrows sooner or later come to share their abodes. They were introduced independently in a number of American cities in the years between 18 as a means of pest control. In the United States it is also known as the ‘English Sparrow’, to distinguish it from native species, as the large American population is descended from birds deliberately imported from Britain in the late 19th century. ![]() It has also followed humans all over the world and has been intentionally or accidentally introduced to most of the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa and Australia as well as urban areas in other parts of the world. It occurs naturally in most of Europe and much of Asia. The House Sparrow ( Passer domesticus) is a member of the Old World (Europa, Asia, and Africa) sparrow family Passeridae. ![]()
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