House Sparrow

House Sparrows have a RED status in Britain. They nest in towns and cities close to people.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Passer domesticus
Family: 
Sparrows
Family Latin name: 
PASSERIDAE
Category: 
Birds
Vernacular names: 

Spuggie, Spadger

Species description

Species description

This small bird has a chunky build. Males have grey caps and black bibs. The colouring of females is less pronounced, making them ideal examples of the classic term LBJ or little brown job.

The House Sparrow is usually found near people in towns and cities, whereas the Tree Sparrow prefers farmland. Both species have declined in number quite dramatically in recent years, and both species have a RED status in the UK. They are found throughout Europe, North Africa and Asia, and have been introduced into the Americas, Southern Africa and Australia.

House Sparrows are resident breeders in the UK and are in the habit of nesting near people. However, there are some notable exceptions to this. In 1956, House Sparrows were reported living in a coal mine at Linton Colliery in Northumberland. This was also noted in 1962 in Chester Moor Colliery in County Durham (at a depth of 182 metres), and in Horden Colliery, also in County Durham, in 1963 (at a depth of 300 metres). The most extraordinary example of this behaviour was noted at Frickley Colliery in Yorkshire (at a depth of 640 metres) where two or three House Sparrows were spotted between 1975 and 1978. In November 1977 a pair nested at that depth and raised three young which, unfortunately, did not survive. These extreme instances happened through naive juvenile sparrows venturing to these depths by accident.

In Oscar Wilde's delightful allegory The Happy Prince, which concerns a Swallow that lingered beyond its migratory summer, it is the sparrows that chirrup to each other that the Swallow is a "distinguished stranger".

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)
House Sparrows have a RED status in Britain. They nest in towns and cities close to people.

Details

Species family information

Old World Sparrows, also known as True Sparrows, are a small group of seed-eating birds (that also eat insects). They typically nest on buildings, and may scavenge for food, living amongst people in cities quite opportunistically. Sparrows are similar to finches but have the vestige of an outer primary feather and an extra tongue bone, neither of which finches have. Sparrows are usually gregarious (in all seasons) and can often nest in colonies.

Category information

The earliest feathered dinosaur fossils date from the early Cretaceous, but the ancestry of birds goes further back to Jurassic theropod dinosaurs, which shared a common ancestor with the crocodilians. Well known theropod groups include the tyrannosaurs, allosaurs, and other carnivores. Of surviving bird groups, the most ancient are the ratites (ostriches, rheas, tinamous, moas, kiwis, cassowaries, and emus), followed in evolutionary order by the waterfowl (ducks, geese and swans) and then the land fowl (chickens, turkeys, pheasants and their kin). Heene cemetery’s most ancient bird visitors are the woodpigeons. Strictly, therefore, we ought to refer to birds as dinosaurs, for they are direct descendants. The RSPB would be more accurately restyled as the RSPD. Where known, the conservation status of each bird is given as red, amber, or green, according to its survival potential based on 2016 populations and recent population trends.

Birds are warm-blooded, and have feathers, toothless, beaked jaws, and a strong, lightweight skeleton. They lay hard-shelled eggs. Their hearts have four chambers, and their metabolic rate is high. Although most are adapted for flight, many can also run, jump, swim and dive. Flightless birds retain vestigial wings. Brown, green, and grey are the commonest bird colours, for camouflage.

Protections

Legal protections and status
IUCN Birds of Conservation Concern: Red List
Natural Environment & Rural Communities Act 2006 Section 41
Sussex Notable Bird List
UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Species