Overview
House sparrows are gregarious birds, that is they are sociable and live together in groups or flocks. They are resident and non-migratory in Britain and Europe. The house sparrow has a long-standing relationship with mankind and their settlements, living and breeding alongside us in farms, towns and cities. You are in fact more likely to see or hear house sparrows in your home town than you are out in the countryside. This is because they have adapted their behaviour over generations to take advantage of the feeding and nesting opportunities that human settlements and buildings offer them. House sparrows nest in all manner of places… sometimes in hedgerows or trees, but more often on buildings – for example under the roof tiles of your house… so keep an eye out! House sparrows eat mainly seeds and grains, and are usually quick to discover any food spilt or discarded by us humans.
Description
This is a somewhat sturdy and chunky little bird with a solid-looking body and large head and strong stout conical ‘finch-like’ bill. Many people think of the house sparrow as the typical plain ‘little brown bird’, but when you look a bit closer you will see they actually have quite attractive markings and colours.
Male and female house sparrows look quite different. Males have a chestnut-brown back (or ‘mantle’) and wings with bold black or brownish-black streaks, a dark grey head (‘crown’) and paler grey underparts. Apart from the grey crown and overall darker brown colouration, the main difference between the sexes is the male’s bold black face markings and black throat, which females lack. Females are generally paler with a ‘washed-out’ appearance, lacking much of the colour contrast of males. Underparts are brownish or buff-grey-white, back and wings are a dusky brown streaked with dark brown. The bill of a female is also paler than the male’s.
We have one other sparrow species in Britain which it might be possible to confuse the house sparrow with – the tree sparrow (Passer montanus). This is much scarcer and less widespread in the UK than the house sparrow, and is far less likely to be found in and near towns and cities. It is smaller and more delicate, both in appearance and behaviour, with a distinctive attractive chestnut-brown head.
Call & Song: A wide variety of basic chirps, cheeps and chattering sounds are produced – often this can make quite a racket when a group of house sparrows start excitedly chatting and calling to each-other hidden deep within a hedge or bush. You might not see them but you will know they are there from the noise!
Latin name: Passer domesticus
Size: 14 – 16cm
In The Garden
The house sparrow is not actually as common as it might seem to you if you are still used to seeing them regularly, as over recent years numbers have declined greatly and flocks vanished from many towns, cities and suburban gardens. For this reason they are are now considered to be a bird of conservation concern and are definitely a species to appreciate if you are lucky enough to still have them in your garden. The reasons for this decline are not clear, but might be linked to changes in house-building methods and a general tendency to tidy or even pave over our gardens in recent times. You can help to support your local sparrow population by providing birdseed and other food throughout the year, and importantly, allowing them somewhere safe and dry to nest such as under the eaves or tiles of your roof. Sparrows will also use nest-boxes, which should be made slightly larger than a tit-type box (see our video on how to build a nest box) with an entrance hole about 32-35mm. Terrace-style nest-boxes with two or three compartments in a row can also be popular with house sparrows due to their communal nesting instincts.
Did You Know…?
House sparrows have lived alongside man since the Stone Age…. perhaps cavemen of the day did cave paintings of the humble house sparrow as well as bison and woolly mammoth?!!