The sparrow is a bird from the finch family. This species includes more than 30 species of birds. All sparrows have a strong cone-shaped, slightly curved beak. They have short legs with rather weak claws. The wings of these birds are short, rounded, and the tail is truncated.
The most common sparrow, the brownie. It has a body length of up to 16 cm. The plumage on its back is rust-colored with black spots. The belly of this bird is gray, the cheeks are white. The wings have a yellowish-white stripe, the throat is black. These sparrows are brave, cunning and annoying. They are found from Portugal to Siberia and even brought to America and Australia.
Sparrows of this species eat grain and raid orchards, pecking at cherries and grapes. But they still provide benefits by destroying many harmful insects.
Tree sparrows are smaller than house sparrows. Their length reaches 14 cm. They are distinguished by a red-gray nape and crown, a black spot on the cheeks and a pair of transverse stripes on the wings. These sparrows usually live in fields and only fly into cities and towns in winter. Such sparrows live in Europe and Central Asia. They can be found as often as brownies. House and city sparrows often use house roofs or other structures for their nests. The field birds make the nest themselves, filling it with feathers, soft grass and wool.
The third type of sparrow, stone. They live in Southern Europe, in rocky areas. These birds are gray-brown in color, have a yellow-white stripe above their eyes, and a yellow spot on their throat.
Sparrows feed on insects, berries and grains, and in cities they eat waste. Sparrows feed their chicks with insects, which is of great benefit to people. Where sparrows were destroyed, an invasion of insects was subsequently noticed.
We associate the cheerful chirping of these small, cheerful birds with spring and sunny weather. They are our permanent neighbors and interesting to watch. Sparrows have long been an integral part of the urban landscape.
Watch a video about the feathered soloist, the sparrow: Sparrow. Concert for a person with a camera.
Sparrows are the most common birds in large and small cities, villages and towns. People are so used to them that they don’t even know where these crumbs originate, which, by the way, are on the other side of the planet. The homeland of house sparrows is considered to be Asia, as well as the Mediterranean and the Middle East. To learn other interesting facts about these birds, you need to find out everything about their appearance, behavior, nutrition and habits.
Description of sparrows
IN populated areas You can find two types of these tiny birds - brownie and field. The house sparrow always lives close to humans. Representatives of this bird species have remarkably adapted to living conditions near people. They are not afraid even of the harsh climate that prevails in most Russian cities. Sparrows are resident birds. They can migrate closer to the south only from the coldest cities with severe winters.
Appearance of birds
The house sparrow is very small in size. Its body length ranges from 14 to 18 cm. The weight of this small bird can be from 25 to 39 g. The head is quite large in relation to the body, and has a round shape. The sparrow's beak is wide and conical. Its length can reach 1.5 cm. The bird looks strong and quite large for its weight. The tail is usually 5-6 cm in size. The length of the limbs is about 2-2.5 cm.
Female sparrows are significantly smaller than males. The color of their plumage also differs according to gender. The upper part of the bird's body is always brown. In this case, the lower one has a light gray color. The wings of sparrows are framed with white and yellow transverse stripes. The differences between the female and the male are the color of the head and neck. In males, the crown is always dark gray, and the area under the eyes is light gray. The throat and chest are framed by a black spot. In females, the crown and neck are always light brown. During the mating season, the color of the birds' feathers darkens significantly. The description of house sparrows at this time may slightly differ from the above characteristics.
Sparrow breeding
The house species of these birds always settles near human habitation. They can nest in separate pairs, and sometimes join in groups. Sparrows make nests in trees, in cracks and crevices of old buildings, under the roofs of houses, and also in thickets of bushes. Both representatives of the couple are always involved in the construction of housing. To do this, they use dry grass, straw, and small branches. A depression is always built in the center of the nest to prevent eggs or chicks from falling out.
Most often, the female begins laying eggs in April. The nest can then contain up to 10 eggs. They have white and brown spots. The incubation period lasts approximately 2 weeks. When the chicks hatch, the female and male begin to feed them insects together. Babies acquire the ability to fly within two weeks after birth. Their lifespan can reach 10 years. However, only a small part of birds survive even to 4 years.
What do sparrows eat?
Their diet mostly consists of plant products. House sparrows love various seeds, grains of cereals and herbs. However, most often they have to make do with what is available in populated areas. That's why sparrows eat human food waste, insects, berries and even buds on trees.
Not everyone knows what the house sparrow eats winter period. Indeed, at this time, the main part of the diet of these birds, which consists of vegetation, disappears from access. Fortunately, birds are often fed by people. All kinds of feeders with seeds and crackers can save the lives of hundreds of birds that cannot withstand a hungry winter and die from the cold. Like many other birds, sparrows need sand to digest their food well. Sometimes birds eat small pebbles and dried hard grains instead.
Tree sparrows
They are not so attached to human habitats. Therefore, they often settle in steppe and field areas. The name of the bird species comes from this feature. The house sparrow lives in cities and residential areas. But field ones can be found on the outskirts of villages, which is why they are often called village ones. These birds have no external differences in gender. Females and males have the same feather color and size.
Tree sparrows prefer warm and dry climates. They never live together with the house species of birds. If they have to cross paths, it is always accompanied by fights and competition for territory. Each species has high social activity. These birds are not afraid of people or pets. Therefore, you can very often see how a sparrow brazenly eats food from a bowl of a street dog, which is sleeping peacefully, not noticing that it is being eaten by a small bird.
During spring and summer period Tree sparrows eat insects, and after the harvest ripens, they switch to food from fields, gardens and vineyards. Plant food during this period is quite enough for them. When cold weather sets in, birds have to make do with grains and weed seeds. Sometimes they fly into the courtyards of residential buildings to find some food for themselves.
Differences between field and house sparrows
Not everyone knows how to distinguish a tree sparrow from a house sparrow. The field variety of birds is a bit similar to male house birds. But at the same time they have a more elegant shape and less weight. An adult has a body length of 12 to 14 cm. The main difference between these species is the color of the crown and back of the head. These parts of their body are bright chestnut in color. Tree sparrows also have small black spots in the ear area and under the beak. The birds' necks are framed by a collar of snow-white feathers, and their wings have not one, but two light stripes.
Both sparrow species have high mortality rates. Despite the fact that these birds can live up to 10 years, few of them even survive their first winter. Like all birds living in harsh climatic conditions and wildlife, they are exposed to various dangers every day. Lack of food in winter is the main one. That is why, with the onset of cold weather, people make feeders from scrap materials, and then fill them with sunflower seeds or other plants. Such kindness and care on the part of humans annually saves hundreds of sparrows from starvation.
The house sparrow belongs to the genus true sparrows and forms a species that lives in the vicinity of humans. This bird is extremely common throughout the world. The original homeland of the bird is most of Europe and Western Asia. Over time, it settled in the northern and eastern regions of Africa, Central and Middle Asia, and Siberia. By the beginning of the last century, the bird came to South Africa, the American continent, Australia and New Zealand.
It is unclear how this feathered baby ended up so far from his native place. In some places it was brought deliberately, and in others by accident. But everywhere representatives of the species adapted perfectly. Nowadays they can even be found in Yakutia. This bird is sedentary. Only from the coldest northern places does it migrate south in winter. Also in the winter months it leaves Central Asia, moving to India and the Middle East.
The bird is small. Body length varies from 14 to 18 cm with a weight of 25-39 g. The head is large and rounded. The beak is thick and has a conical shape with a length of 1.1-1.5 cm. In general, the physique is strong. The tail reaches 5-6.5 cm in length. The limbs are 1.7-2.5 cm long. Females are somewhat smaller than males. In Europe, the average weight of these birds, regardless of gender, is 30 g. The southern subspecies weigh on average 26 g.
The color of the plumage varies between males and females. The general background of the upper body is brown. The lower part of the body is light gray. There is a white-yellow transverse stripe on the wings. Males have a dark gray top of the head. The part of the head below the eyes is light gray. There is a black spot on the throat and chest. Females have a light brown head and neck. During the mating season, their plumage darkens. Young birds look similar to adult females.
Reproduction and lifespan
Sparrows nest near human habitation. They can form separate pairs, and sometimes they unite into colonies. Nests are made in tree hollows, in crevices of structures and buildings, in burrows on the slopes of ravines, in bushes and on tree branches. Both the male and the female build the nest. They make it from dry grass, straw, and small twigs. A small recess is made inside.
The female usually lays eggs in April. It contains from 4 to 10 eggs. They are white in color with brown spots. The incubation period lasts about 2 weeks. The female and male feed the hatched chicks with insects. Young birds begin to fly 14-16 days after birth. As for life expectancy, the house sparrow can live up to 10-11 years. But in most cases, birds live no more than 4 years if they survive the first winter. About 70% of these small birds do not live to see one year old. The maximum life expectancy is 23 years. A sparrow from Denmark lived to this age. Another centenarian lived 19 years and 9 months.
Behavior and nutrition
This species constantly lives next to humans. It has 12 subspecies, which differ slightly in plumage color and size. For example, house sparrows living in Spain and Italy have chestnut-colored tops. There are other minor differences. The bird tolerates a variety of climatic conditions well, but prefers dry rather than humid tropical climates. Can live without water, getting moisture from berries.
These birds are extremely social. When feeding, they always unite in large flocks. Outside the breeding season, they spend the night in trees or bushes. Diet mostly consists of plant foods. Insects make up a small percentage. They mainly feed chicks. The house sparrow loves grain seeds, but always eats what is available. This includes waste from garbage cans, berries, buds, and seeds of various herbs.
These birds, like many other birds, need sand to properly digest their food. Coarse grains and small pebbles can serve as a substitute for sand. When flying, the bird can reach a speed of 45 km/h. He doesn't walk on the ground, but jumps. Can swim and dive. Most of these birds do not move more than a few kilometers from their main habitat throughout their lives. Only 2 subspecies migrate. Before flying, they increase their weight. All over the world, March 20 is celebrated as World Sparrow Day. It was introduced in 2010.
In our regions sparrow considered one of the most common birds. People are so accustomed to these birds that sometimes they don’t even notice their presence. Sparrows are everywhere - on the roofs of houses, on wires and simply hovering in the air.
They belong to the passerine family. It may seem only at first glance that bird sparrow stupid and insignificant in anything. In fact, this is quite an interesting and gifted bird. From observations, these permanent neighbors of people have excellent memory, obstinate, cocky and sociable disposition.
With the appearance of these smart, daring and courageous birds, we associate the approach of spring. They are one of the very first birds to hurry to tell us with their sonorous chirping, jumping across newly thawed puddles, that winter is finally over.
In fact sparrow's voice so sonorous and joyful that not only the arrival of spring, but also the arrival of spring makes your soul feel incredibly joyful and good. The loud chirping of a sparrow is an enthusiasm that is transmitted to everything around.
Description and features
The incomparable appearance and chirping help to recognize these amazing birds. Initially, it may seem that their plumage has gray. Looking closely, you can catch brown shades with black splashes on top of the feathered bird. The head, area near the ears, and abdomen of the bird are painted light gray.
The bird has a fairly powerful beak and a short tail. Birds of small size. The average length of their body reaches up to 15 cm. And sparrows weigh no more than 35 g. The wingspan reaches up to 26 cm.
There are noticeable differences between males and females. The very first of them is that males are always larger than females. The male has a clearly visible black spot. It is located in front on the chin and breasts.
The head of the bird is much darker than that of the female. She also lacks a black spot. Her chest and top of her head are painted light gray. And the eyes are decorated with a barely noticeable gray-yellow outline. The birds stand on short limbs with weak claws. Their wings are short.
The most basic feature of sparrows is that they are in close contact with people everywhere. You can meet them both in populous cities and in modest, almost deserted villages and fields. On ships, these travelers find themselves in places where they have never been before and remain there for permanent residence.
In essence, this is a sedentary bird that almost never leaves its familiar territory. Sparrows can rarely cross the line of this area, and then only in order to scout out what is happening beyond it.
Currently, large flocks of sparrows are observed, which live, despite their massive concentrations, in excellent proximity to people, birds and animals.
But sparrows do not establish trusting and peaceful relationships with all birds. These robbers can sometimes completely drive tits and swifts out of areas. Small birds sometimes cannot withstand the strong pressure of the impudent little ones and give up their territory to them.
Sparrows have excellent memory. They can connect everything connected with a person into a logical chain. They are afraid of cats, but they can, at their own peril and risk, tease her at her own feeding trough. The same picture can be observed in relation to horses.
Sparrows are not at all afraid of rabbits and chickens. They freely sneak into their territory and share a meal with them. Sparrows are not afraid of people. But they are precisely those birds that are very difficult to tame, so sparrow photo and a person is a real rarity. True, there are isolated cases of people becoming friends with these birds, but this really happens very rarely.
Character and lifestyle of a sparrow
These sedentary birds prefer to nest in one place. Their offspring remain with their parents after growing up, so these birds form very large flocks. A pair of birds find one for life.
For their nests, sparrows choose a variety of places where they can be placed. The nest of this bird can be seen on the eaves of a balcony, birdhouse, in empty wooden and brick buildings, among pipes and even heaps of garbage.
The character of these birds is distinguished by its nastiness. They fiercely and jealously guard their possessions. They boldly fight for their territory and survive birds that are even larger in size. In addition, they show their temper not only towards strangers. They can bully their relatives with or without reason.
Silence and silence are absolutely not characteristic of these birds. The slightest movement near them causes a very violent reaction, which is accompanied by noisy sounds.
In spring, when pairs form between birds, it becomes especially noisy and “hot”. Males fight for primacy among themselves not only on trees and rooftops, but also high in the sky.
There are no bloody consequences after this. The rivals scatter in different directions, but some time passes and they fight again.
Habitat
There are about 35 species of sparrows in nature. Each of them has its own external distinctive features and habitat. You can meet these birds everywhere, except for cold continents, where life is practically absent.
Birds are not picky about anything. They follow a person wherever they go. They easily found refuge in Australia and developed the territory of the tundra and forest-tundra. Places where, to put it mildly, life does not seem like a fairy tale to everyone. There are very few places left that are not inhabited by these birds.
Types of sparrows
It has already been mentioned that in nature there are about 30 species of sparrows. Each of them is characterized by a certain characteristic and habitat area. Some of them are worth considering.
House sparrow occurs most often. The length of its body does not exceed 16 cm. Its entire back is decorated with rust-colored plumage with black splashes. Gray colors are visible on the abdomen, the cheeks of the bird are painted white.
House sparrow
The wings of the bird are yellow with white stripes, and black feathers are visible on the neck. Courage, cunning and importunity are inherent in these birds. You can meet them in the open spaces from Siberia to Portugal.
For a long time they have been found in Australia and on the American continent. House sparrows can cause harm agriculture, fruit trees and vineyards. But they also provide great benefits in the form of the destruction of harmful insects.
tree sparrow
tree sparrow It is smaller in size than the brownie. It has a red-gray nape and parietal area, black cheeks and several stripes across its wings. They prefer to live not in populated areas, but in the fields. In winter they can move closer to human habitation. Europe and Central Asia are the habitats of tree sparrows.
Stone sparrow prefers rocky terrain in Southern Europe. They are gray-brown in color with a yellow stripe near the eyes and a yellow spot in the throat area.
Stone sparrow
They take a large part in the destruction of insect pests. Stone sparrows are most often found near us. They are the ones who warn us about the coming of spring.
Snow sparrow lives in the South-East of Altai and the Caucasus. This is very beautiful bird with black and white wings and a tail edged with white and a black patch on the throat. The snow sparrow makes sounds that cannot be compared with anything else.
Snow sparrow
Camel sparrow bird in fact, it is not a sparrow at all. This name was given to the ostrich, which, apart from the name consonant with the sparrow, has nothing in common.
Nutrition
Sparrows eat everything in the literal sense of the word. They don't have any special preferences. They eat insects, grain, crumbs, human food waste. These birds are not particularly modest. They can sit and brazenly look into the mouth of a person who is eating at a table in summer cafe.
If you remain motionless in this case for some time, the bird can safely climb onto the table and grab what attracted its attention. The slightest movement causes the bird to flee. Birds do not have greed for food. The whole flock flocks to the tasty morsel, after which the feast begins.
Unfamiliar food is tried with great caution. Summer time especially good for village sparrows. In the village they simply have a huge abundance of food. Moreover, the scarecrows built by people in the garden to scare away birds are absolutely not scary for sparrows.
In addition to this food, sparrows also feed on caterpillars and other harmful insects, which large quantities can cause irreparable harm national economy.
Reproduction and lifespan
At the end of winter, the songs of sparrows are heard and some of their fuss is noticeable. This indicates that their mating season is approaching. Fights between rivals can very rarely be avoided. As a result, a couple is formed for life, which by the end of March is building its own family nest.
In April, the female lays eggs. There are usually no more than 8 of them in a nest. The male and female will need about two weeks to hatch them. And they do this together.
Parents also feed insects and take care of their newborn babies together. From such care, the chicks quickly become winged. This happens in early June. At this time, parents begin to make a second clutch. If living conditions are appropriate, they may have about three such clutches.
They do not live long, about 5 years. But among the sparrows there were also long-livers who lived twice as long. The short lifespan of these birds occurs due to the severity of winters in some places.
Sparrow- it's small bird passerine family. Sparrows are the most famous birds that coexist with humans with great pleasure.
Description of the sparrow.
Sparrow is recognizable by appearance and for his characteristic chirping. The color of the plumage in the upper part is brownish-brown interspersed with black feathers. On the head near the ears and belly are light gray. Sparrows have a small short tail and a fairly powerful beak. On average, the body length of a sparrow is about 16 cm, its weight is tiny - from 25 to 35 grams, and its wingspan is up to 27 cm.
How to distinguish a male sparrow from a female?
A male sparrow can be distinguished from a female by a characteristic black spot that covers the chin, throat and upper chest. The male's head is also dark gray in color. The female sparrow is smaller in size, the head and throat are gray, and above the eyes there are gray-yellow stripes, very pale, almost invisible.
Where do sparrows live?
You can meet sparrows almost everywhere. They massively populate the centers of cities and towns. The habitat is wide, the sparrow is found from Western Europe to the Sea of Okhotsk, in East and Central Asia. It is widespread even in Siberia.
Features of the lifestyle and behavior of sparrows.
Sparrows They lead a sedentary lifestyle, choosing a territory and nesting. The raised offspring remain close to their parents, thus the sparrows form large flocks. This is facilitated by the high fertility of the sparrow and the abundance of food due to the proximity of human settlements.
Ornithologists, observing sparrows, found that these birds create a pair for almost their entire lives. The life expectancy of sparrows is on average up to 5 years. But there were specimens of birds whose age was about 11 years. The short life expectancy of sparrows is due to the fact that the young often die in the first winter. Sparrows nest almost anywhere they can place a nest. These include the eaves of balconies, birdhouses, voids in wooden or stone buildings, sometimes pipes and even heaps of garbage. In our area, couples form towards the end of winter. At this time, sparrows (males) are animated, chirping loudly, talking and even sometimes fighting.
Reproduction of sparrows.
A male and female sparrow build a nest together. As a rule, this is a rough structure made of feathers, straw, dry grass, with a small depression in the center. Construction of the nest begins in March, and in April the birds begin laying eggs. During a season, a female can lay up to 5 clutches. The clutch usually contains up to 7 white eggs with dark specks. The incubation period for hatching eggs lasts about two weeks. The chicks hatch slightly pubescent, almost naked. Feeding the offspring takes approximately 14 to 17 days; both parents feed the chicks mainly with insects.
Around the 10th day, the chicks try to fly. After a couple of days at the end of May - beginning of June, they leave the nests. By the end of autumn, the sparrows become animated again, chirping loudly and courting the females. Nest construction begins. There will be no chicks in these nests until spring, and a place prepared in this way in winter will serve the sparrows as protection from autumn rains and winter frosts.
- Everyone knows about the thieving nature of sparrows. There is even a version about the origin of the name of the bird: once a sparrow stole a bun from a tray, and the baker, seeing this, shouted: “beat the thief!”;
- Another interesting fact about sparrows - they see the world in pink tones, and the cervical region of these birds has twice as many vertebrae as that of a giraffe;
- There are many folk signs associated with the behavior of these urban birds. For example, if sparrow bathes in dust - this means rain, and if you find a container with water and flounder there - this means drought.
Loading...
