3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue 1 & 2 Jan - Apr 2 3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue | Page 102

ADVENTURE & WILDLIFE
All About Birds
House Sparrow Life History
House Sparrow - Breeding Male
Habitat - Towns
House Sparrows are closely associated with people and
their buildings. Look for them in cities, towns, suburbs, and
farms (particularly around livestock). You won’t find them in
extensive woodlands, forests, or grasslands. In extreme
environments such as deserts or the far north, House Sparrows
survive only in the immediate vicinity of people.
Food - Omnivore
House Sparrows eat mostly grains and seeds, as well as livestock
feed and, in cities, discarded food. Among the crops they eat are
corn, oats, wheat, and sorghum. Wild foods include ragweed,
crabgrass and other grasses, and buckwheat. House Sparrows
readily eat birdseed including millet, milo, and sunflower seeds.
Urban birds readily eat commercial bird seed. In summer, House
Sparrows eat insects and feed them to their young. They catch
insects in the air, by pouncing on them, or by following
lawnmowers or visiting lights at dusk.
House Sparrow
Breeding Male
A chunky full-breasted bird
with a round head and a
stout bill. Breeding males
Nesting
have gray crowns, white
Nest - Cavity
cheeks, a black bib, and a
House Sparrows nest in holes of buildings and other
chestnut neck.
structures such as streetlights, gas-station roofs, signs, and the
overhanging fixtures that hold traffic lights. They sometimes
build nests in vines climbing the walls of buildings. House
Sparrowsare strong competitors for nest boxes,too, at times
displacing the speciesthe nest box was intended for, such as
bluebirds and Tree Swallows. House Sparrows nest in holes in
trees somewhat less often.
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Vol 4 | Issue 2 |Mar - Apr 2019