HOUSE SPARROW
Size
Life span
Appearance
Habitat
Facts
House sparrows can be seen all year round and are very sociable, they live in flocks which includes other types of bird and feed, dust/water bathe and sing together. They also roost together communally.
They can breed at all times of the year but the main season is between April to August. The flocks break up but they will still nest close to each other in building crevices and trees.
Pairs mate for life and will return to the same nest site each time, they fill the hole with dry grass/straw and line it with feathers then the female lays around 2-5 eggs that they will incubate. After around 2 weeks the eggs hatch and they will be fed aphids, catterpillars, beetles, plants parts and some seeds.
14-16 days after hatching the young fledge but are still fed by the parents for the next two weeks. They then join other fledglings in a flock while the adults nest. The female can lay more eggs a few days after they fledge so they can have more chicks in a few weeks.
The adults will join the fledglings back in the flock once they are finnished nesting where there is enough food which is mainly seed.
16cm long
Mainly around human development, towns, villages, farmland
-1-3 years (in the wild)
-23 years (is the oldest recorded in captivity)
Male sparrows like the one above have darker markings than the females and they become even darker in the breeding season with a black beak, eye patches and throat.
Females and juveniles are pale brown with dark grey, white and black markings, they have a lighter coloured collar, cap and wing stripes.
Sparros have a small conical beak which they use to pick out seeds.
Being fed by the male
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House sparrows can have up to 4 broods a year
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They have lived alongside human settlements since prehistoric times when farming first began
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Even though sparrows can live up to 23 years, most do not make it past 1 or 2 years because of predators and harsh winters
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They will steal other birds nests such as house martins, blue tits and swallows
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When lining the nest with feathers they will even pick feathers off other birds
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In the past 25 years their numbers have lowered by 70%
(These are not my images)