Geographic Range
The House Sparrow is distributed worldwide (excluding the Poles). It is native to Eurasia and North Africa. It was introduced into S. Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and America. Its introduction into North America occured in 1851, when a group of 100 birds from England was released in Brooklyn, New York.
- Biogeographic Regions
- nearctic
- palearctic
- ethiopian
- neotropical
- australian
Habitat
House Sparrows like areas that have been modified by humans, including farms, residential, and urban areas. They are absent from uninhabited woodlands, deserts, forests, and grasslands.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
Physical Description
The House Sparrow is a stout, stocky sparrow, with shorter legs and a thicker bill than indigenous American sparrows. Members of both sexes are brown backed with black streaks throughout this area. Its underside is pale buff. Males have white cheeks and a black bib, while females do not. The tail is usually three-quarters the length of the wing. Wing length is 76 mm and average mass is 28.5 grams.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male more colorful
Reproduction
- Mating System
- monogamous
House Sparrows form monogamous pairs for each breeding season. Nests are built between February and May. House Sparrows nest in crevices inside and on buildings, and in coniferous and deciduous trees. Nests are built from dried vegetation, feathers, strings, and paper. Eggs are layed at any time in the nesting period. One to eight eggs can be present in a clutch, with the possiblity of four clutches per nesting season. Incubation begins after all the eggs have been layed. Both males and females incubate the eggs for short periods of a few minutes each. Incubation lasts for 10 to 14 days. After the eggs are hatched, both males and females feed the young through regurgitation.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- oviparous
Both males and females incubate eggs and brood young until they have fledged. Both parents also provide their young with food.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
- male parental care
- female parental care
Lifespan/Longevity
A wild House Sparrow lived to be 13 years and 4 months old, though most will live for only several years.
Behavior
House Sparrows tend to forage for food on the ground, using a hopping movement when not in flight. Their flight is direct, with continued flapping and no periods of gliding.
House Sparrows aggressively protect a small teritorry just around their nesting site. This is believed to be strictly a protection of the nest site, and not of any feeding areas. Sparrows have been observed to threaten, and if necessary, attack 70 species of birds that have come into their nesting territory. These attacks seem to be intrasexual, males attack males and females attack only females.
Communication and Perception
House Sparrows use a set of postures and behaviors to communicate with others of their species. House Sparrows also have a set of vocalizations that are used to attract mates, deter intruders, and warn others.
Food Habits
House Sparrows eat various kinds of seed supplemented by some insects. Rural birds tend to eat more waste seed from animal dung and seed from fields, while urban birds tend to eat more commercial birdseed and weed seed. Studies of the contents of House Sparrow stomachs in Alabama, Conn., Illinois, Iowa, Mass., Michigan, Miss., Penn., and Vermont have shown approximate amounts of seed to be 60% livestock feed (corn, wheat, oats, etc.), 18% cereals (grains from storage or from fields), 17 % weed seed, and 4% insects.
- Primary Diet
- omnivore
- Animal Foods
- insects
- terrestrial non-insect arthropods
- Plant Foods
- seeds, grains, and nuts
- fruit
Predation
Many hawks and owls hunt and feed on house sparrows. These include Cooper's hawks , merlins , snowy owls , eastern screech owls , and many others. Known predators of nesting young or eggs include cats , domestic dogs , raccoons , and many snakes . House sparrows avoid predation by foraging in small flocks so that there are many eyes watching out for potential predators.
Ecosystem Roles
House sparrows are abundant near human habitations. In these areas they serve as an important prey base for birds of prey and they may have an impact on plant communities because they consume large quantities of seeds. House sparrows seriously impact populations of native birds, such as bluebirds , chickadees , cliff swallows , and some woodpeckers . House sparrows take over the nesting cavities of native birds, including expelling adults and nestlings by force.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
House sparrows are well-suited for studies of general biological problems, such as the way animals evolve and pest control.
- Positive Impacts
- research and education
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Because of their preference for human-modified habitats, house sparrows are considered a nuisance species, an aggressive competitor with native birds, and an agricultural pest. Large aggregations around buildings produce annoying noise and large quantities of feces.
- Negative Impacts
- crop pest
- household pest
Conservation Status
When first introduced into the United States in 1851, house sparrows were protected from predators and fed. However, populations expanded enormously in North America and they were soon considered a nuisance species. Since the 1960's, with the changes in farming to larger, single crop farms, populations have declined. They are not, however, seen as threatened and are not included in most Canadian and U.S. regulations.
Additional Links
Contributors
Jennifer Roof (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- introduced
-
referring to animal species that have been transported to and established populations in regions outside of their natural range, usually through human action.
- Palearctic
-
living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Ethiopian
-
living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- introduced
-
referring to animal species that have been transported to and established populations in regions outside of their natural range, usually through human action.
- Australian
-
Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.
- introduced
-
referring to animal species that have been transported to and established populations in regions outside of their natural range, usually through human action.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- internal fertilization
-
fertilization takes place within the female's body
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- male parental care
-
parental care is carried out by males
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- omnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Lowther, Peter E. and Cink, Calvin L. 1992. The Birds of North America. No. 12. The American Ornithologists' Union.