House Sparrow - Photos by Bruce Dayton - House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

ORDER: Passeriformes
FAMILY: Passeridae (Old World Sparrows - 2 Species)
SPECIES: House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is a member of the Old World sparrow family - Passeridae. It was first introduced into North America between 1850 and 1875 from its native Europe. In many areas, the large numbers and the aggressiveness of the House Sparrow have had a negative impact on the breeding success of our native cavity nesters. Songbirds such as bluebirds, purple martins, and tree swallows are often driven from nesting areas by these sparrows. These are the birds that you see picking up crumbs in parking lots of supermarkets, small stores and restaurants. They can often be seen dust bathing in large numbers.
SIZE	The House Sparrow is a small (5-6 1/2”) songbird.
DESCRIPTION	Adult male (summer) has a gray crown, cheeks and underparts, black on the throat, upper breast and between the bill and eyes. The bill in summer is blue-black, and the legs are brown. Adult male (winter) has plumage is dulled by pale edgings, and the bill is yellowish brown. Adult female is a brown overall with a streaked back with no streaking on breast. It has no gray crown and no black on head or throat, though it has a large pale tan eye stripe.
NESTING	Clutch size ranges from 3-7 eggs, which are incubated in 10 to 14 days. The nest is a large, untidy ball of grass, wool and feathers, lined with feathers and finer plant material. They nest in wherever they can find a protected opening, any suitable areas in buildings, such as in roof voids and crevices in walls, masonry, rocks or man-made bird houses.
RANGE	The House Sparrow range is across Canada and southward into the United States and into Mexico and Central America. Their populations are distributed world-wide across many continents (except in the Poles).
HABITAT	They habitat farms, residential, and urban areas, wherever people build houses. Humans provide food and home through their building and planting of crops.
DIET	They feed on a wide range of foodstuffs including blossoms, seeds, fruit, insects and spiders in nature as well as scraps of food discarded by humans.

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The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit.




House Sparrow

Mud Locks Cayuga County, New York


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Cortland Water Works Cortland County, New York


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Male	Female

Loon Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes