Day 5: House Sparrow

When we moved to our apartment in Bethesda, one of the first things I noticed were the House Sparrows. EVERYwhere. The little brown, noisy birds seemed to multiply out of thin air, making nests in our bushes, gutters, and air vents.

 Male House Sparrow trying to peek through our kitchen window

House Sparrows occur naturally in most of Europe and Asia but were introduced to many regions, including parts of Australia, Africa, and the Americas, making them the most widely distributed wild birds. They are adapted to living with humans; where people build and develop, you will find House Sparrows. Usually, they are considered pests, since they consume agricultural products and spread disease to humans and domestic animals. According to Wikipedia, "Even birdwatchers often hold them in little regard because of their molestation of other birds." So very true.

Females and young birds are pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings.

 

In most of the world, House Sparrows are not protected by law, though attempts at large-scale control have failed. However, they are not ALL bad, I suppose. They do eat some pesky insects.

Fun fact: In many cultures, the House Sparrow is used to represent the common, vulgar, and lewd. Even the ancient Egyptians used a sparrow hieroglyph. The symbol had no phonetic value and was used as a determinative in words to indicate small, narrow, or bad.