Sparrow

Sparrows are some of the most familiar and most common

birds in the world, but what makes sparrows unique?
Knowing what makes a sparrow a sparrow can help birders
identify these birds more easily and better appreciate their
place in the world's avifauna
Sparrows have been kept as pets at many times in history,
even though they are not colorful and their songs are
unremarkable. They are also difficult to keep, as pet
sparrows must be raised by hand as nestlings, when
considerable supplies of insects are required to feed them.
The earliest mentions of pet sparrows are from the Romans.
Not all the passerine mentioned, often as pets, in Roman
literature were necessarily sparrows, but some accounts of
them clearly describe their appearance and habits.
Types of Sparrows
 The term "sparrow" covers a wide range of relatively small, mostly drab brown
birds, which birders often call "LBJs" or "little brown jobs" because they can be
notoriously difficult to identify. While many of them include the word
"sparrow" in their common names, other types of sparrows include buntings,
towhees and juncos, and in fact, there are dozens of different sparrow species
throughout the world – more than 50 in North America alone. Understanding
how these small birds are related and what similarities they share is helpful
for understanding their uniqueness in the avian world.
 Sparrows can be found on every continent except Antarctica, and they are
generally divided into two principle families.
 Old World Sparrows: These sparrows are actually types of weaver finches in the
family Passeridae, and they are widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa. One of the
most common sparrows – the house sparrow – is an Old World sparrow and has
been introduced widely around the world, so much so that in many places it is
considered an invasive species.
 New World Sparrows: These sparrows are common in North and South America
and belong to the family Emberizidae. There are dozens of sparrow species in this
family, all with subtle differences in appearance, habitat and range.
 Sparrow Behavior
Because sparrows all share relatively bland plumage and physical
characteristics, it is their behavior that is often more distinctive than
their appearances. Behavioral traits common to sparrows include:
Flocking: Like most songbirds, sparrows are solitary or found only in
pairs or family groups in the spring and summer, but in autumn and
winter they will form mixed flocks of different sparrow species. Birders
can take advantage of this behavior by scanning complete flocks in the
field to see if there are any unusual species joining more familiar birds.
Foraging: While foraging, sparrows feed primarily on the ground or
low in trees or shrubby cover. They will often glean through leaf litter for
seeds and insects, and many sparrow species will hop to scratch with
both feet while feeding.
Diet: Sparrows are principally seed eaters, though they also consume a
fair amount of insects, particularly during the spring and summer when
the protein from insects is essential for growing hatchlings. In the
backyard, sparrows are fairly undiscriminating and will eat black oil
sunflower seeds, millet, cracked corn, mill, bread scraps and a range of
other foods.
Flight Pattern: Sparrows are fast, agile fliers that use a series of
rapid wing beats followed by a brief glide with folded wings to create an
undulating flight pattern. As flocking birds, they may be easily startled
and may fly between a food source and shelter frequently while feeding.
Like all types of birds, sparrows have certain physical characteristics
that help define them as a group. They are all passerine birds –
songbirds – and share traits such as:
Size: The majority of sparrow species are relatively small, with sizes
ranging from 4-8 inches in length, though 5-7 inches is the most
common range.
Plumage: These birds are called LBJs for a reason, and most sparrows
have brown mottled plumage that serves as superior camouf lage.
They often have several distinct markings on the head, however,
including stripes or bold colors that stand out from their bland
bodies.
Bill: A sparrow's bill is relatively short and thick with a conical
shape. This is perfect for cracking the seeds that are these birds'
primary food source.
Under the classification used in the Handbook of the Birds of the
World (HBW) main groupings of the sparrows are the true sparrows
(genus Passer), the snow finches (typically one genus, Montifringilla), and the
rock sparrows (Petronia and the Pale Rock finch). These groups are similar to
each other, and are each fairly homogeneous, especially Passer.[4] Some
classifications also include the sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser) and several
other African genera (otherwise classified among the weavers,
Ploceidae)[4] which are morphologically similar to Passer.[5] According to a
study of molecular and skeletal evidence by Jon Fields and colleagues,
the Cinnamon Ion of the Philippines, previously considered to be a white-
eye, is a sister toxin to the sparrows as defined by the HBW. They therefore
classify it as its own subfamily within Passeridae.[5]
Many early classifications of the sparrows placed them as close relatives of
the weavers among the various families of small seed-eating birds, based on
the similarity of their breeding behavior, bill structure, and molt, among
other characters. Some, starting with P. P. Sucking in the 1920s, placed the
sparrows in the weaver family as the subfamily Passerine, and tied them
to Plocepasser. Another family sparrows were classed with was the
finches (Fringillidae).[4]
The sparrows are indigenous to Europe, Africa and Asia. In
the Americas, Australia, and other parts of the world, settlers
imported some species which quickly naturalized, particularly in
urban and degraded areas. House Sparrows, for example, are now
found throughout North America, in every state of Australia
except Western Australia, and over much of the heavily populated
parts of South America.[4]
The sparrows are generally birds of open habitats, including
grasslands, deserts, and scrubland. The snow finches and ground-
sparrows are all species of high latitudes. A few species, like the
Eurasian Tree Sparrow, inhabit open woodland.[4] The
aberrant Cinnamon Ion has the most unusual habitat of the family,
inhabiting the canopy of cloud forest in the Philippines.[5]
Sparrows are generally social birds, with many species breeding in
loose colonies and most species occurring in f locks during the non -
breeding season. The Great Sparrow is an exception, breeding in
solitary pairs and remaining only in small family groups in the non -
breeding season. Most sparrows form large roosting aggregations in
the non-breeding seasons that contain only a single species (in
contrast to multi-species f locks that might gather for foraging). Sites
are chosen for cover and include trees, thick bushes and reed beds.
The assemblages can be quite large with up to 10,000 House Sparrows
counted in one roost in Egypt.
The sparrows are some of the few passerine birds that engage in dust
bathing. Sparrows will first scratch a hole in the ground with their
feet, then lie in it and f ling dirt or sand over their bodies with f licks
of their wings. They will also bathe in water, or in dry or melting
snow. Water bathing is similar to dust bathing, with the sparrow
standing in shallow water and f licking water over its back with its
wings, also ducking its head under the water. Both activities are
social, with up to a hundred birds participating at once, and is
followed by preening and sometimes group singing.
Sparrows may be the most familiar of all wild birds. many sparrow
species commonly live in agricultural areas, and for several human
settlements are a primary habitat. The Eurasian Tree and House Sparrows
are particularly specialised in living around humans and inhabit cities in
large numbers. 17 of the 26 species recognized by the Handbook of the
Birds of the World are known to nest on and feed around buildings.
Because of their familiarity, the House Sparrow and other sparrows are
frequently used to represent the common and vulgar, or the lewd. Birds
usually described later as sparrows are referred to in many works of
ancient literature and religious texts in Europe and western Asia. These
references may not always refer specifically to sparrows, or even to small,
seed-eating birds, but later writers who were inspired by these texts often
had the House Sparrow and other members of the family in mind.
 Dead Sea Sparrow.  Sudan Golden
Sparrows.

Two main types of sparrow.

THANK YOU FOR WATCH THIS SPECIAL
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON
SPARROW.

MADE BY.
DIMANSHU BAKSHI
XI – F