[Wild England - an A-Z compendium of England's Native Wildlife logo]

Sparrow (House)

INTRODUCTION
Sparrow - House.jpg

The House Sparrow is one of the most well-known birds in England as it is often associated with houses and humans. It can be quite tame at times and will hop onto garden tables with humans nearby to take scraps of food left out. House Sparrows will also take peanuts from bird feeders as well as rummage through dustbins to look for titbits. Its song is quite monotonous because it repeats the same chirp over and over again.

The House Sparrow is a small plump-looking bird that has a small cone-shaped bill. The male House Sparrow can be recognised by its grey head, grey chest and its black bib-like patch on the front of its chest. The female has a yellow-cream throat, chest and belly without a black patch. Both the male and female have brown backs with black markings.

House Sparrows spend a lot of their time foraging for food on the ground looking for seeds and scraps of food, but sometimes they chase and catch insects in mid-air. They can often be seen near houses, in towns and cities, on farmlands, in parks and in gardens. House Sparrows are very sociable birds that often feed in flocks and they also roost communally in winter.

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