The house sparrow is a bird from the passerine family, from the description of which it is clear that it is a widespread species. You can see a photo of a house sparrow, which belongs to the genus of true sparrows, in our article.
The sparrow is perhaps the most common and popular bird that lives side by side with humans. The sparrow is difficult to confuse with other small birds. We all know his appearance and chirps from childhood.
Description of the House Sparrow
The house sparrow is a small bird weighing 25 - 35 g with a body length of about 16 cm.
On top, the sparrow is brown, even closer to brown, with black spots. The abdomen and chest are gray in color. The wings have a white and yellow transverse stripe. The male has a black spot in the area from the top of the chest to the crop. Females do not have such a spot, but they do have a light yellow stripe above the eye, which the male does not have. The sparrow's ear area is light gray in color, and its cheeks are white.
Habitat of house sparrows
In ancient times, the house sparrow lived only in the vast expanses of Northern Europe. However, already at the beginning of the 20th century, this bird was brought to almost all corners of the globe. Currently, this bird is found throughout almost the entire territory of Eurasia, except for the extreme east and northeast of the continent. It also lives throughout almost the entire territory of North America, southern South America, South Africa and eastern Australia.
House Sparrow Lifestyle
Almost throughout the entire habitat, the house sparrow leads a sedentary lifestyle. This is facilitated by an excess of food in its habitat. This species is synanthropic. This means that his way of life is directly related to people and their housing. Over many centuries, the sparrow has adapted well to humans and the constant changes in environment associated with human activity. The habitat of the house sparrow is expanding to the south and north along with the expansion of agricultural zones.
Listen to the house sparrow's voice
House sparrow nutrition
Food of plant origin predominates in the diet of this bird. The sparrow feeds on insects only in the spring, and also feeds the chicks with them. The sparrow's main food is cereal seeds, waste products consumed by humans, as well as all kinds of berries in gardens and vineyards. If there is no such food nearby, the sparrow flies to the meadows, where it feeds on the seeds of herbaceous plants.
Reproduction of House Sparrows
The house sparrow often makes paired nests, but sometimes settles in entire colonies. It makes nests right next to human habitation, or near settlements. In the southern part of the habitat there are nests located far from humans. Such nests are located in plantings and ravines near agricultural fields.
Sparrows nest in crevices of buildings, in hollows of trees, as well as in the walls of nests of larger birds (such as heron, eagle, stork).
Very often, sparrow pairs are formed once and for the entire duration of their life. This life, it should be noted, is not very long. On average, a sparrow barely lives to be 3 years old, although there are individuals up to 11 years old.
Both the female and the male take part in the construction of the nest. The building materials are dry straw, feathers, and grass. Mating games begin in March, and already in April the first laying of eggs occurs.
On average, there are from 4 to 10 eggs in one clutch. The incubation period lasts up to 2 weeks. Both parents take an active part in feeding the chicks. Already 10 days after their birth, the chicks begin to fly out of the parent's nest. The wide distribution of sparrows around the planet is due to their high fertility. In one season they are capable of producing up to 3 broods of chicks.
The importance of house sparrows for humans
Sparrows are capable of bringing both undeniable benefits and terrible harm to people. Sparrows are potential carriers of pathogens of various dangerous diseases. They also often carry grain-eating pests on their feathers. Sparrows also harm poultry populations by transmitting diseases such as diphtheria and smallpox.
However, the benefits of the existence of this bird are much greater than the harm caused. The case of the extermination of sparrows in China at the end of the 50s is indicative here. In 1958, almost 2 billion individuals were exterminated in China as part of the fight against pests of these birds. This resulted in an unprecedented proliferation of insect pests in the spring and summer of the following 1959. The damage from the insects was so great that the Chinese government was forced to suspend its sparrow extermination campaign that same year.
Sparrows are perhaps the most famous birds on the planet, because there is not a single city on Earth where they do not live. These constant companions of humans often arouse our sympathy, but few people can boast of comprehensive knowledge about these birds. In fact, what do we know about sparrows: small, inconspicuous birds that feed on anything, chirp underfoot and take dust baths? That’s right, but this description concerns, first of all, the house sparrow, and there are other species of these birds in the world, and their image does not coincide with the stereotypes that have developed among the majority.
Tree sparrow (Passer montanus) is one of the most common species of this family.
The systematic position of these birds is clear even to people far from biology, because it was sparrows that gave the name to the largest order of birds - Passeriformes. So, in a broad sense, all the small birds included in this group can be considered their relatives. In general, it is customary to call 33-35 species of the Passerine family sparrows, to which finches, weaver birds and astrilds are closest.
Chestnut Sparrow (Passer eminibey) in Samburu Game Reserve (Kenya).
The appearance of sparrows is well recognizable and quite uniform. These are small birds 11-18 cm long with black beady eyes, short wings, a short tail and a short cone-shaped beak. The coloring of most species is inconspicuous, making it easy to hide in the thicket of dry grass or branches. As a rule, sparrows have a uniform gray belly, wings and tail are contrasting brown, and the feathers on them often have white spots or edges that form an inexpressive striped pattern. As for the head and upper part of the body, their color in one case can be gray to match the abdomen, in another case - dark to match the color of the wings. In addition to species differences, sexual dimorphism should also be noted, and it is well expressed in all sparrows, with the exception of the field sparrow and the African grey-headed sparrow. In females, regardless of the species, the head and throat are painted in dull colors, and males are distinguished by decorations in the form of a cap, cheeks, and throat spots of black, white, chestnut or yellow.
Male Arabian golden sparrow (Passer euchlorus).
Males of the yellow and Arabian golden sparrows strike the eye with a bright canary coloration, it is slightly more modest in the males of the yellow-bellied sparrow.
In addition, among sparrows of different species, albinos are occasionally found.
Despite the average parameters, sparrows have universal adaptations to life in various environments. Their wings are moderately short and allow them to maneuver in the thick of the crowns, but at the same time their flight is swift and allows them to gain significant speed on short straight sections of the distance. Thin paws are adapted to movement on a flat surface, while at the same time tenacious claws allow them to grasp branches, stems of tall grasses, wires, and also hang upside down on these perches. On the ground they move in characteristic leaps, although the rock sparrow walks like most birds.
Sparrows cannot swim, but they bathe in water and dust more readily than other land birds.
As for the behavior of sparrows, it would be most appropriate to compare it with the behavior of nosy jackals. Sparrows are extremely cautious, quickly assess their opponent and, if he poses a danger to them, without wasting a second, they cowardly retreat. If a large animal is not dangerous, then the birds become bolder and show bold impudence. They can fearlessly hatch chicks in the nests of storks, herons and large birds of prey, because they know that they will not pay attention to them; may steal food from the feeders of dogs and cats directly during the owner’s meal, believing that pets are too lazy to catch them; can fly into store premises and peck grain directly from bags at the market. In a word, the life strategy of these birds comes down to the formula “catch me if you can, and if you can’t, then I’ll have a snack here.”
A male house sparrow (Passer domesticus) clearly gives in to the white wagtail (Motacilla alba) that attacked him. Likewise, sparrows are inferior to larger starlings and thrushes.
Equally contradictory relationships develop between members of the pack. On the one hand, sparrows are very friendly and try to keep up with their relatives every step. Flocking is the basis of their success, since many eyes will quickly notice the danger, and the simultaneous flight of a dozen birds makes it possible to disorient the predator and increases the chances of survival for each individual. On the other hand, sparrows are quarrelsome and easily start fights with each other over a crust of bread or a nesting site.
A male and female house sparrow had an argument about something. This photo clearly shows the difference in coloration between representatives of different sexes of the same species.
They are even more aggressive towards birds weaker than themselves. Feeling psychological and physical superiority, they push competitors away from the feeder or even drive weak birds out of their nests, acting on a purely gangster scale.
A tree sparrow occupied the swallow's nest. Swallows, with their weak beaks adapted for catching small insects, are not able to repel sparrows, whose strong beaks are adapted for catching solid food.
Most sparrows make non-melodic, staccato sounds known as chirps. It can be quiet if addressed to chicks or a partner, or loud if addressed to flock members or rivals. But the yellow-bellied sparrow cannot tweet; its voice resembles a hiss. In contrast, saxaul and desert sparrows produce trills no worse than songbirds.
Male and female desert sparrow (Passer simplex).
The historical homeland of sparrows is Africa, where more than a dozen species of these birds live. In Asia, the total range of several species (tugai, saxaul, desert, short-toed sparrows) covers vast areas from Israel in the west to China in the east, from Kazakhstan in the north to Indochina in the south. In Europe, several native species (for example, Spanish, Italian sparrows) inhabit mainly the Mediterranean region. All these species gravitate towards open areas intersected by rocky ridges, groves, and thickets of bushes. Open spaces are important for them as feeding grounds, and sparrows prefer to build nests in thickets and on cliffs.
The Spanish or black-breasted sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) is closely related to the brownie and is sometimes considered a subspecies of it.
The field and house sparrows stand apart. Firstly, these two species are cold-resistant and initially nested far beyond the borders of their long-standing historical homeland - in Europe, right up to its northern borders. Secondly, both species are typically synanthropic, that is, gravitating toward human habitation. For house sparrows and tree sparrows, setting up a nest somewhere on a tree is rather an exception, but as a rule, these birds consider setting up nests under the roofs of buildings, in gutters, abandoned or artificial nesting sites taken from other birds. At the same time, the tree sparrow prefers low-rise and wooden buildings, such as barns, stables, elevators, warehouses, and therefore is more often found in rural areas. The house sparrow, on the contrary, is more often found within dense urban areas. The proximity to humans allowed these two species to move far beyond the boundaries of their primary range; the house sparrow was especially successful, settling across all continents and even beyond the Arctic Circle.
The snow sparrow (Montifringilla nivalis), also called the snow or alpine finch, is an inhabitant of the highlands of Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. This is the only purely mountain species of these birds.
The habitats of sparrows left an imprint on their way of life. Most species of these birds are sedentary, and are so attached to constant sources of food that in some cases they can even live year-round in barns and under the roofs of covered markets. There are cases where house sparrows managed to survive the long polar night in such conditions, which would have been impossible in the natural environment. At the same time, populations not provided with stable food sources regularly resort to migrations; This is how most African species behave. Indian, rufous, rock and short-toed rock sparrows are truly migratory birds. Finally, among these birds there are species that are migratory in some parts of their range and sedentary in others, for example, house sparrows from the northern regions fly 1000 km south.
Relying on the help of other birds, sparrows can colonize landscapes that are atypical for them. This pair of House Sparrows peeks out of cavities hollowed out in the trunk of a saguaro by a cactus woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis).
Unlike weavers, sparrows do not form flocks of many thousands; usually their groups number tens or hundreds of individuals. During the breeding season, flocks break up into pairs, although it is possible to form microcolonies of several pairs sharing a convenient shelter. During nesting, birds exhibit monogamy, that is, they remain faithful to their partner and raise their chicks together. At the same time, sparrow monogamy is not stable. After the breeding season, the male and female may separate, and in the next season create a pair with a new partner; sometimes infidelity occurs during nesting. In nature, hybrids between different species of sparrows are known.
In sparrow chicks, the oral mucosa is painted bright yellow, which attracts the attention of parents and stimulates feeding. This color is also preserved in fledglings, which makes it possible to accurately distinguish feathered, but still dependent young birds from adult birds.
What all sparrows have in common is their high fertility, which can be compared with the fertility of small rodents. Only some migratory species, such as the red-haired sparrow, nest once a year; the rest have 2 clutches per year in the northern regions, and from 3 to 5 in the southern regions. Being granivores, sparrows need more water than insectivorous birds, and therefore prefer to build nests at a distance of one non-stop flight from a body of water. Sparrow nests are untidy heaps of stems, haphazardly placed on branches or squeezed among stones. If the nest is not located in a natural shelter, it usually has a roof. Ground sparrows living in the Gobi Desert use abandoned rodent burrows for nesting. The clutch contains from 4 to 10 (usually 5-7) white eggs with ocher specks. Incubation lasts 11-13 days. Sexual maturity in young birds occurs at the age of 5-8 months.
Stone sparrow (Petronia petronia) with food for chicks.
Parents feed the chicks exclusively with insects, while the adults themselves prefer plant foods. The basis of their diet is grains and seeds of herbaceous plants, sparrows especially like high-calorie sunflowers, millet, hemp, and peas. These birds can also eat berries and peck the fruits of stone fruit trees. In many countries, they are considered agricultural pests, because one flock of sparrows can destroy the entire crop in a small field over the summer, and berries and fruits damaged by their beaks cannot be sold. Even the name of these, in general, harmless birds comes from the impartial “beat the thief!” Nowadays, the situation is aggravated by indirect harm: the ability of sparrows to carry infections, including bird flu.
Outside agricultural zones, sparrows feed mainly on weed seeds.
However, humanity did not undertake any fight against these birds until a revolution broke out in China in the middle of the 20th century. The communist authorities of this country considered it their duty to show the people the high achievements of agriculture, and they did not exist in the backward economy. In order to somehow justify the inept leadership, they began to look for the cause of the crop failure. Soon the culprit was found: calculations showed that one sparrow eats 4-5 kg of food per year, and the entire population of these birds in China “deprives” 35 million people of food. In 1958, a campaign began for the widespread destruction of “harmful” birds. The seemingly obvious ineffectiveness of this measure was overcome by the tenacity of millions of peasants who filled entire trucks with bird carcasses. By the next year, silence reigned in the Chinese fields, no chirping could be heard anywhere, but the ears of corn became noticeably thicker. But along with high harvests, pests came to the fields from God knows where - they ate everything they had captured from the birds. The crop failure continued for several more years and caused a famine that killed 30 million people (ironically, that's exactly how many people were supposed to be fed by killing the sparrows). The campaign ended with sparrows being brought to China from other countries in order to quickly restore their population.
This story serves as an excellent illustration of the fact that in nature there are no absolutely harmful or beneficial species. In this case, sparrows, eating grain, simultaneously increased grain yields, destroying pests of cultivated plants during the nesting period. And now the benefit of sparrows exceeds the harm they cause in cities, where they peck mainly weeds and tree pests, in country houses and gardens, where they often eat weed seeds. In these places, sparrows can be fed in winter, provided with shelter and sources of water during the nesting period, or at least not destroyed. Security measures are doubly important, since modern urban planning technologies, which create perfectly straight lines of facades without cracks, clean lawns without weeds and closed waste collection points, form a “sterile” urban environment in which even such unpretentious birds cannot survive. The development of human civilization has resulted in a sharp reduction in the number of sparrows in European cities.
Well-maintained cities have little to offer sparrows, so the birds are forced to get creative.
But near large crops, where birds cause significant damage, it is possible and necessary to fight them, but it is better to do this using natural methods, attracting birds of prey to the areas. The main enemies of sparrows are small falcons; they are also hunted by cats, martens, and snakes. In nature, the lifespan of a sparrow ranges from 9 months to 3 years, but in captivity these birds lived up to 10 years.
By the way, adult caught sparrows tolerate captivity surprisingly poorly. It is likely that these active birds find it difficult to adapt to the limited space of the cage. But artificially fed chicks are tamed well, and when they mature, they can even begin to reproduce. It is not worth picking up yellowthroat chicks on the street (), but if a wounded or orphaned sparrow chick falls into your hands, it should be fed with animal food: mealworms, cockroaches, crickets, locusts. You can buy them at a pet store; they also sell grain mixtures for feeding astrilds and parrots - they are suitable for feeding adults. When keeping adult sparrows, you should remember that in addition to grain, the diet should still contain mineral supplements (chalk), some greens and protein food (the same mealworms or boiled eggs). It should also be taken into account that birds kept in captivity spend much less energy, so high-calorie food, which sparrows like so much, should be limited in their diet.
The article uses wonderful photographs and quatrains by Andrei Polyakov.
The sparrow is a bird so famous and familiar that we, as a rule, do not notice it, passing by indifferently. And his outfit is nondescript, and the sparrow doesn’t seem to represent anything interesting to us.
So as not to sit next to each other,
Don't offend your sparrow friend...
How well do we know this bird? From time immemorial, the sparrow lived next to man. Moreover, in ancient times the bird lived in Central Europe and gradually spread throughout the world. The sparrow is not separated from the person, it always lives nearby, so it is warmer and more satisfying.
extraordinary popularity
But in the meantime, I’m studying and training, in a mannequin window...
There are house sparrows - city sparrows and field sparrows - village sparrows. The first live mainly in cities. They have a gray top of the head, a brown neck and a black tie, but no dark spots on the cheeks. The latter live in fields, gardens, and villages. The top of their heads are brown and there are dark spots on their cheeks. Of course, representatives of these species can sometimes be found outside their natural habitat.
day,
And I am very dissatisfied with my laziness.
Can’t sit quietly on a branch now,
I will jump and warm myself dashingly...
Sparrows are nimble, lively, noisy, friendly and smart guys. On warm, fine days, flocks of sparrows occupy local hills, jump, bathe in puddles or dust, chirp, sometimes fight, but never over food. Showdowns occur over females or leadership in the pack.
we warm ourselves on the lantern,
But it doesn’t heat up! And not to my brother and not to me and not to you...
Sparrows are omnivorous birds, they feed on grain, crumbs, seeds, seeds, and are not averse to eating any other food that is simply stolen from other animals: birds, cats, dogs, people. In humans, cultivated plants and grains are increasingly tastier, and in poultry you can enjoy various “delicacies”.
take on the chest,
Wait, buddy! Where are you going? They'll take away your rights...
At first, one gray, nimble fellow appears in the poultry yard, to whom you don’t even pay attention, but after a few days there are already several dozen of them. Even on the street they manage to peck away tasty things and won’t get confused in the poultry house. Such a flock flew in and instantly devoured everything. Little gray kids will fly in even in rainy weather, sit where it’s drier (under a roof, eaves, etc.) and, if necessary, still profit. They are not afraid, sometimes, to profit from a dog’s bowl. And where crows feed, jackdaws, pigeons and sparrows will not miss theirs. While the other birds hesitate, the sparrow will steal a piece.
to be beautiful,
And just then the sparrow salon opened!
The service package is not rich, but it is free.
Vertical solarium, now I will be statuesque!
Still, the name of this bird contains its whole essence. It is not known for certain where the name sparrow came from. Some believe that it comes from the word thief-fence, since he often sits on the fence, others - from the word coo-tweet. But the nickname of the thief, bey, suits him very well, just exactly.
I read the Snow Maiden,
Since then I have dreamed of making one for myself.
Even though this is a fairy tale, I had hopes,
And suddenly I found it; someone had lost it in a snowdrift!
In the spring, sparrows begin to build their unsightly nests, because during the season they have 3-4 hatchings of babies. They build their nests in human buildings or hollows, and the building materials used are rags, pieces of paper, feathers, animal fur, etc. The sparrow incubates several eggs for a couple of weeks. The chicks hatch naked, weak, helpless, and after two weeks the yellowthroats fly out of the nest. Parents feed their babies exclusively with insects (pests collected in our gardens). Having matured, young sparrows switch to grains and seeds. During the period of raising chicks, sparrows are the main assistants to humans in the fight against pests of fields, gardens, and vegetable gardens.
nasty frost,
By breathing I warm my feet, but I risk freezing my nose.
A well-known children's fairy tale tells that the birds accused the sparrow of feeding on a man and not paying him anything. The sparrow promised to feed its chicks with pests that destroy human crops, and fulfilled his promise. The little gray hero literally saves our harvest.
autumn,
We endure strange weather...
Just in case, I'll make a nest,
Suddenly it’s summer tomorrow, and it’s already ready!!!
In the city of Boston, a monument was erected to the sparrow for his special services in saving the harvest. Until 1860, there were no sparrows there and they were brought in specifically to combat the unprecedented caterpillar. The birds coped with the task perfectly, saved the residents from hunger, and in gratitude they erected a monument to the gray hero.
Another monument to a sparrow stands in the city of Baranovichi in Belarus. It is believed that the authorities covered the pipe, which was an eyesore, for them in the year that was declared the year of the sparrow.
A sparrow with a straw in its beak is a symbol of the city of Ulm in Germany. According to legend, the unlucky residents of the city, having erected a fortress wall, began to build inside the house and got stuck in front of the gate, since a cart loaded across with logs could not pass through it. A sparrow helped them, turning over a straw in its beak and sticking it into a narrow hole. Residents of the city are very proud of this legend, despite the horrific incompetence of their builder ancestors.
Although in fact, during the construction of one of the largest cathedrals in the world - Münster in Ulm, one of the architects placed on the building a dove with an olive branch on Noah's Ark, but from the ground the bird is so small that popular rumor turned it into a sparrow and considers it as such.
The sparrow occupies an ambiguous place in world folklore. Among some peoples the bird was held in high esteem, while among others it personified an evil spirit.
were intact...
I’m sitting here gnawing on the healthy vitamins from this spruce!
The sparrow is a component of marriage rites among many peoples.
A very beautiful capital sparrow!
I live in the capital of Siberia,
But I’m just imitating a peacock...
Sparrows brought nails in their beaks when Jesus Christ was executed on the cross, for which they were cursed by God. Therefore, the sparrow is tiny, unprepossessing, gray, with invisible fetters on its legs, and can only jump.
gossip,
And we are not cold, even if it is not a summer day.
September 14 is a sparrow's night, all the birds gather in one place and the sparrow devil measures them with a yardstick. Those who do not fit in are released, and the rest are sent to hell.
visited the animals,
Among others, a peacock, visited a friend...
He boasted to me of a harem of juicy wives!
I admit, I was smitten by their beauty.
Now I’m sitting and looking at my tail...
And I want a harem, do you think the tail has already grown?
On one of the holidays, the ancient Slavs ate baked or dried sparrows, believing that this gave them the liveliness, lightness, agility, and speed of the sparrow.
thoroughly...
How else? I am thoroughly preparing for winter!
A sparrow flying overhead or flying into a door was associated with misfortune.
For disrupting its opening this September.
It's their fault that I'm taking serious risks -
I'll freeze everything in this puddle...
Europeans believed that killing a sparrow would invite disaster.
dinner,
I sit and think, do I need him?
They will quickly eat the berries...
And it is unknown whether they will invite you?
Ancient ancient peoples believed that the sparrow was inhabited by the souls of the dead; for them it was considered almost a saint.
She demands salary...
But somehow I can’t find the money,
I bought a broom for my neighbor's roses...
Some peoples had a custom on New Year's Eve to catch sparrows and throw them into the oven so that the crops would not be destroyed. They caught him when he was blind and deaf, which they learned from the conversation of livestock.
sofa,
It would be better if I could eat whatever they gave me...
Opposite judgments about the sparrow arose due to its close proximity to humans and because of the harm and at the same time benefit brought by the bird.
To earn the favor of my dear,
Brought her some grape vitamins.
I've been waiting for an hour, she still doesn't come,
If he doesn't hurry, he'll put the raisins in his mouth...
But a sparrow, like a swan, creates one family for many years; if the female dies or the male is young, it is very difficult for the sparrow to find a mate, because for every one hundred and fifty males there is one female.
worm,
He's in no hurry for my dinner...
Sparrows see everything in a pink light, this is the structure of their eyes.
announced
And my friends and I decided to become pilots!
Let them take us as fighters -
We will become a thunderstorm for all cats here!!!
A sparrow cannot fly for more than 15 minutes.
fright,
I deftly carry crumbs from my hands...
Take a closer look at this little gray bird living next to us, but the sparrow is a great worker, raising 3-4 broods per season. The bird lives at the expense of the person, but also pays him with kindness.
And my pipe burst.
Just give me some soap!
But the neighbor below was washed away...
In winter, all the birds are hungry, but the sparrow has nowhere to get grains and seeds, except from us. Feed the birds in the cold so that with the bright rays of the sun on a warm day you can hear the cheerful chirping of little gray sparrows.
I let off a spray fireworks with my head,
I've been extreme since childhood!
Damn it, it must be, it’s offensive to the point of tears...
Everyone is splashing around, they are having a blast, but I didn’t bring a swimsuit.
I decided to learn the woodpecker craft,
If only my brains weren't shaken...
Don't bother me and don't distract me!
Don't you see? I aim at respectable people.
I dream of becoming a deputy -
I practice sleeping during debates...
My butt froze in the cold snow,
I'm dreaming about spring, seriously...
Eh.., my jacket is thin,
The wind is blowing in the hole...
What to do? Darn yourself
Or propose to Irka?
Thank you of course, this is wonderful -
Offer me some bread crumbs.
But I really want some seeds, without the skin,
Can you give me a couple of spoons?
She married her son, gave away all her daughters in marriage,
And a measured life flowed without any problems!
Now I sleep peacefully - life has become simpler,
I’m just waiting with apprehension for jokes about my mother-in-law...
Friends, let's eat snow quickly,
It won’t be there - everyone will become warmer!!!
Did you know that there are about 100 billion birds in the world. And according to various estimates, this is from 8,600 to 9,000 species of birds. Of these, 43%, which is about 226 bird species, have been under threat of extinction since the 70s - 80s of the 20th century. Many species of birds, such as the black swift, starling, and warbler, are disappearing from our cities at a catastrophically fast pace.
House sparrow
It is also disappearing from our cities. Their cheerful flocks are melting before our eyes. Unfortunately, this happens in all major cities around the world, and not just in St. Petersburg or Moscow. For example, what is killing sparrows in British towns and villages? Indeed, over the past 25 years, the number of these birds has decreased by half. There are many reasons for this. From damage or even destruction of habitats to habitat pollution in winter, during the period of snow control. However, the fact remains that sparrows typically hatch three broods of chicks in a summer on the British Isles. But, as English ornithologists have found out, the second and third broods in cities often die before leaving the nests. In some large cities, including London, there are so many of these deaths that the population is falling noticeably. And even in the suburbs of cities, such as the city of Leicester, where the research was carried out, half of the second and third broods died in 2002, despite the fact that the survival of sparrow chicks outside the city was much higher.
- Did you know that due to the structural features of their eyes, sparrows see the world in a pink light, and a sparrow’s neck has twice as many vertebrae as a giraffe’s;
- It is not only parrots and starlings that demonstrate extraordinary speech abilities. There are many talented imitators of human speech among sparrows;
- In ancient Rome, noble girls often had pet sparrows as their favorites. The great Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus wrote two eclogues dedicated to his beloved, playing with a tame sparrow. And in the third eclogue he describes her grief over the death of her little pet
- Did you know, that the sparrow was named so a long time ago because flocks of field sparrows could devastate vast fields. People, scattering flocks of these little birds, shouted: “Beat the thief!” So they remained sparrows, although they have not devastated anything for a long time. But it wasn’t just the sparrows, familiar to us all, that devastated people’s fields.
- Did you know that the order passerines or, scientifically, passeriformes includes more than 5,000 species of birds. Almost 2/3 (about 63%) of the bird species inhabiting the Earth belong to this order. These include larks, thrushes, orioles, starlings, and even crows - all belong to the passerine order.
- The largest representative of the squad is the raven. Its body weight is 1100-1600 grams. The smallest passerine is the wren. It weighs 5-7 grams.
Did you know that there are city (or house) and village (or field) sparrows?
Our most common one, the house sparrow, or city sparrow, has perfectly adapted to life in an urban environment. It is clear that the city can attract it: many niches for nests in houses and other buildings, open places (streets, sidewalks, squares, courtyards), ornamental trees and shrubs - excellent places for sparrows to live. But for some time now, houses have been built using a different technology, leaving no space for nesting and for the construction of nests. There are too many cars, and the number of public gardens has decreased. Something else also appeared - huge luminous posters and huge glassed spaces of high-rise buildings.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, more than 100 million birds die annually from bird collisions with such structures in North America alone. How many of them are dying here? Has anyone counted these losses?
There are especially many losses during dark and foggy nights: birds collide with billboards, in confusion, helplessly beat their wings against window glass and frames, and, exhausted, fall dead on the street pavements. Since in the morning their bodies are removed by scavengers or destroyed by stray cats and dogs, the problem of bird survival in the metropolis remains unnoticed by people.
tree sparrow
In winter, others appear on the streets, in courtyards, and on feeders along with house sparrows - smaller in stature, brighter in color, wearing a brown cap with white cheeks. This is a sparrow, which Russian zoologists call a field sparrow. We city dwellers could call it the “park sparrow” - because in the city it nests only in large forested parks. 
In large cities, the tree sparrow is a dear guest: it protects parks from oak budworm. Several decades ago, a real epidemic of this pest broke out in Moscow - in some places there was not a single oak tree with a green crown left. Attempts to use pesticides only increased the resistance of pests. Only the oak trees in the Main Botanical Garden were lucky - tree sparrows have long settled here, which saved the trees from invasion.
Did you know that tree sparrows very often nest next to eagles and crows. They make nests between the branches of large nests of bird predators and thus find protection from many of their enemies. Sometimes up to a dozen pairs of sparrows can settle in the walls of an eagle’s or bald eagle’s nest.
Did you know that sparrows live everywhere - in Europe and Asia, with the exception of the Arctic and the northeastern, southeastern and central regions of Asia. In the world there are 16 subspecies of the house sparrow alone: African, Persian, Egyptian (Nile), English, Bactrian, Maltese, Indian...
White-headed sparrow
Did you know, that there is also a white-headed sparrow, this sparrow is a migratory one. Although the sparrow is a sedentary bird almost everywhere, only from the northernmost parts of its habitat does it migrate to the south for the winter, covering up to 1000 km. Every spring and fall, tens of thousands of white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii) make the thousand-mile flight between Alaska and southern California. 
They fly at night and feed during the day, allowing themselves only three hours of sleep.
Such long night flights are a very difficult task for small birds like sparrows. You have to fly for many hours without food or rest, and small birds need to eat often, otherwise their metabolic rate is disrupted and they lose a lot of heat.
The so-called white-crowned sparrows, even when in a cage, do not sleep for the amount of time that they would spend on a two-year flight from Alaska to California and back. They become very sleepy, but don't really sleep at all.
Dolphins also have the same “abilities” for insomnia during migration. Research into the amazing abilities of dolphins and sparrows is in its early stages. It is not entirely clear whether they sleep or not, not to mention how they do it, or rather do not do it.
African social sparrow
Did you know that in distant Africa there lives a social sparrow. The African social sparrow is only slightly smaller in size than our house sparrow. He has a shorter tail. The plumage and appearance are typically passerine, but the beak is more simplified laterally, the cast is curved along the ridge and has a cone-shaped shape. 
The coloring of the African sparrow is discreet, modest, but pleasant. These sparrows live in the southern semi-desert and steppe regions of the African continent, settling on large trees - acacias, tree aloes, and also use telephone poles and power line supports.
The African social sparrow is so called because although each pair of these sparrows builds only its own nest, the nests of each pair of sparrows are built so close to each other that a continuous common roof of grass is formed over them. An overgrown colony resembles a native’s hut with a large thatched roof, and the dimensions of such a “hut” are enormous: from 5 to 7 meters in diameter, and the height of this “hut” reaches up to 3 m. Such a public, almost communal hut is sometimes inhabited by several dozen to several hundred pairs of birds. Sometimes, when a colony grows too quickly and the overall "nest" becomes too large and too heavy for the support on which it is attached, the structure falls to the ground along with a broken branch. Then the birds immediately begin construction in a new place.
The entrance to each nest is located at the bottom, and all nests are isolated from each other, since African social sparrows are strictly monogamous.
Snow sparrow
Did you know that there is a snow sparrow. He lives in the Alps and Tibet, high in the mountains where the snow never melts. In the Alps, the snow sparrow or, as it is also called, 
The alpine finch nests in the highlands above 1700 - 8000 meters above sea level in holes and crevices of rocks, sometimes in the zone of eternal snow. In winter it descends lower, up to 600 meters above sea level, and often appears on the outskirts of villages. These sedentary mountain inhabitants are found in mountain steppes and alpine meadows with stone placers no lower than 1800 meters; in Tibet they reach the line of eternal snow at an altitude of 4600 - 5100 meters.
On the ground, the snow sparrow does not move by jumping, like real sparrows, but by alternately moving its legs, like larks and pipits, which indicates that it has long been adapted to life without trees and bushes, in rocky landscapes. However, when moving quickly, the snow sparrow switches not to running, but to real sparrow jumps.
Stone sparrow
Did you know that sparrows are made of stone; they are very similar to the house sparrow, but they build their nests in crevices and cracks of rocks, in the screes of the foothills, since the habitat of the rock sparrow is everywhere where the terrain is mountainous: from southern Europe to Central Asia, including the Canary Islands and Madeira Island.
However, the stone sparrow differs from most sparrows in two ways. Firstly, the rock sparrow is polygamous, and the male has several females during the breeding season. And secondly, only the stone sparrow and no other has a fluttering flight.
ground sparrow
Did you know that there are ground sparrows? They are not at all different from ordinary sparrows, but they live in hilly steppes and wide valleys, on flat areas with sparse grass.
Therefore, they have to build their nests in the ground, in abandoned rodent burrows, which are located at a depth of up to 75 cm from the entrance to the burrow, in the former living chamber of the rodent.
Yellow-bellied Sparrow
Did you know, that there is also a yellow-bellied sparrow. It is also called the small house sparrow. Yellow-bellied sparrows are small in size - they do not exceed the size of field sparrows, but are smaller than house sparrows. 
They really look like our house sparrows, but the yellow-bellied fellow house sparrow falls into the category of beautiful exotic birds.
Since he lives in the countries of Indochina, he is surprisingly beautifully dressed: he has a stripe running from his beak through his eye to his ear, and he also has a “tie” on his throat. The crown and neck are olive-gray. The forehead, cheeks and lower part of the body are yellow-green (yellower on the forehead, cheeks and abdomen). The back and the stripe above the eye are bright brown. Its flight feathers are brown with light edges, and its tail feathers are brownish-brown. The yellow-bellied sparrow, living in secondary forests, tea plantations, gardens and parks, stays, like our house sparrow, closer to humans and their homes.
Red sparrow
Did you know that the red-haired sparrow still exists in the world, living in South and East Asia. In our country, it lives only in the south of Sakhalin and the South Kuril Islands. Beyond our borders, it lives in a range from Japan to southern China, the Himalayas and northwestern India. It differs from other sparrows in the chestnut-red color of the plumage on the top of the head and back.
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