HOUSE SPARROWS

Wherever people build, House Sparrows sooner or later come to share their abodes. Though described as tame and semi-domestic, neither is strictly true; humans provide food and home, not companionship. The House Sparrow remains wary and resents familiarity.

Identification
The house or English sparrow is a brown, chunky bird about 5 3/4 inches (15 cm) long, and very common in human-made habitats. The male has a distinctive black bib, white cheeks, a chestnut mantle around the gray crown, and chestnut-colored feathers on the upper wings. The female and young are difficult to distinguish from some native sparrows. They have a plain, dingy-gray breast, a distinct, buffy eye stripe, and a streaked back. The black bib and chestnut-colored feathers on the wings are the first signs of male plumage and appear on the young birds within weeks of leaving the nest.

Range
The house sparrow was first introduced in Brooklyn, New York, from England in 1850 and has spread throughout the continent.

Habitat
The house sparrow is found in nearly every habitat except dense forest, alpine, and desert environments. It prefers human-altered habitats, particularly farm areas. While still the most common bird in most urban areas, house sparrow numbers have fallen significantly since they peaked in the 1920s, when food and wastes from horses furnished an unlimited supply of food.

Food Habits
House sparrows are primarily granivorous. Plant materials (grain, fruit, seeds, and garden plants) make up 96% of the adult diet. The remainder consists of insects, earthworms, and other animal matter. Nestlings, however, are fed mostly animal matter. Garbage, bread crumbs, and refuse from fast-food restaurants can support sparrow populations in urban habitats.

General Biology, Reproduction, and Behavior
Breeding can occur in any month but is most common from March through August. The male usually selects a nest site and controls a territory centered around it. Nests are bulky, roofed affairs, built haphazardly and without the good workmanship displayed by other weaver finches, the group to which the house sparrow belongs. Sparrows are loosely monogamous. Both sexes feed and take care of the young, although the female does most of the brooding. From 3 to 7 eggs are laid, 4 to 5 being the most typical. Incubation takes 10 to 14 days, and the young stay in the nest for about 15 days. They may still be fed by the adults for another 2 weeks after leaving the nest.

House sparrows are aggressive and social, both of which increases their ability to compete with most native birds. Sparrows do not migrate. Studies have shown that 90% of the adults will stay within a radius of 1 1/4 miles (2 km) during the nesting period. Exceptions occur when the young set up new territories. Flocks of juveniles and nonbreeding adults will move 4 to 5 miles (6 to 8 km) from nesting sites to seasonal feeding areas.

Mortality is highest during the first year of life. Few sparrows survive in the wild past their fifth season. One individual, however, lived in captivity for 23 years. While house sparrows are tolerant of disturbance by humans, they can in no way be considered tame. Their success lies in their ability to exploit new habitats, particularly those influenced by humans.

Damage and Damage Identification
House sparrows consume grains in fields and in storage. They do not move great distances into grain fields, preferring to stay close to the shelter of hedgerows. Localized damage can be considerable since sparrows often feed in large numbers over a small area. Sparrows damage crops by pecking seeds, seedlings, buds, flowers, vegetables, and maturing fruits. They interfere with the production of livestock, particularly poultry, by consuming and contaminating feed.

Because they live in such close association with humans, they are a factor in the dissemination of diseases (chlamydiosis, coccidiosis, erysipeloid, Newcastle’s, parathypoid, pullorum, salmonellosis, transmissible gastroenteritis, tuberculosis, various encephalitis viruses, vibriosis, and yersinosis), internal parasites (acariasis, schistosomiasis, taeniasis, toxoplasmosis, and trichomoniasis), and household pests (bed bugs, carpet beetles, clothes moths, fleas, lice, mites, and ticks).

In grain storage facilities, fecal contamination probably results in as much monetary loss as does the actual consumption of grain. House sparrow droppings and feathers create janitorial problems as well as hazardous, unsanitary, and odoriferous situations inside and outside of buildings and sidewalks under roosting areas. Damage can also be caused by the pecking of rigid foam insulation inside buildings. The bulky, flammable nests of house sparrows are a potential fire hazard. The chattering of the flock on a roost is an annoyance to nearby human residents.

Nestlings are primarily fed insects, some of which are beneficial and some harmful to humans. Adult house sparrows compete with native, insectivorous birds. Martins and bluebirds, in particular, have been crowded out by sparrows that drive them away and destroy their eggs and young. House sparrows generally compete with native species for favored nest sites.

Economics of Damage and Control
The US Department of Agriculture survey concerning the status of house sparrows in 1886, about 35 years after their successful introduction, house sparrows were recognized as a detriment to agriculture and native birds. Researchers in 1940 analyzed 8,004 sparrow stomachs and found that only 20% of the foods (primarily insects) taken by adult sparrows were beneficial to humans, 25% were of neutral importance, and 55% were definitely detrimental to human interests. While 59% of nestling foods were beneficial to humans and only 28% injurious, he pointed out that their impact lasted for only 10 to 12 days.

A recent survey of bird problems across the United States indicated that 25% of the respondents in cities had problems with house sparrows, behind pigeons (71%), blackbirds (54%), and starlings (42%). Extensive measures with traps are not cost-effective.

Legal Status
The house sparrow is afforded no legal protection by federal statutes because it is an introduced species. A few states, however, may offer them some protection by requiring permits or otherwise restricting control activities. Check with state or local governments before poisoning or shooting house sparrows.


Damage Prevention and Control Methods

Exclusion
Block entrances larger than 3/4 inch (2 cm). Design new buildings or alter old ones to eliminate roosting and nesting places. Install plastic bird netting or overhead lines to protect high-value crops.

Cultural Methods
Remove roosting sites. Plant bird resistant varieties.

Frightening
Fireworks, alarm calls, exploders. Scarecrows, motorized hawks, balloons, kites. 4-Aminopyridine (Avitrol®).

Repellents
Capsicum. Polybutenes. Sharp metal projections (Nixalite® and Cat Claw®).

Toxicants
Fenthion in Rid-A-Bird® toxic perches.

Trapping
Funnel, automatic, and triggered traps. Mist nets.

Shooting
Air guns and small firearms. Dust shot and BB caps.

Other Methods
Nest destruction. Predators.




ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The above information was adapted from PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF WILDLIFE DAMAGE with permission of the editors, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Robert M. Timm, and Gary E. Larson (Cooperative Extension Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control, Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee).